[Antiracism] [EFCA] Cutting Through the Spin

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

(Thanks to Mark.)

Cutting Through the Spin about

Employee Free Choice

cid:X.MA1.1232086917 at aol.com

By  <http://blog.aflcio.org/?page_id=289> Seth Michaels, Jan 13, 2009

Here’s a delightful surprise from, of all places, Fox News. When Neil Cavuto interviewed Stewart Acuff, special assistant to the president at the AFL-CIO, about the  <http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/against.cfm> Employee Free Choice Act, he was pleasantly surprised to find that, contrary to corporate spin, the Employee Free Choice Act does not take away the secret ballot process.

Acuff appeared Friday on “Your World with Neil Cavuto” to bust some of the myths and disinformation that has run rampant about the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill vital to restoring the right to form unions and bargain for a better life.

Cavuto—clearly going on what he’s heard from the  <http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/against.cfm> corporate shills and political spinners who hope to block the Employee Free Choice Act—asked Acuff whether the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process for joining a union would be made illegal or eliminated under the Employee Free Choice Act. Cavuto was shocked when Acuff replied that it wouldn’t. In fact, the only change the Employee Free Choice Act makes is that it puts  <http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/brokensystem.cfm> the decision of whether to use a ballot or majority sign-up in the hands of the workers, not their boss.

Said Acuff: I’m for workers being able to decide how they choose whether or not they want to be in a union. 

Both [majority sign-up and the NLRB process] are legal today, but under current law, management gets to decide, and under the Employee Free Choice Act, the workers will decide.

Here’s another surprise from Acuff for those who rely on the corporate anti-union campaign for information: Forming unions through  <http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/majoritysignup.cfm> majority sign-up has been legal for decades and works fine at workplaces around the country and around the world. Unfortunately, that right can be  <http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/how/employerinterference.cfm> hijacked by bosses, who under current law can refuse to accept the wishes of a majority of employees who want to. Indeed, current law is badly imbalanced, and companies completely dominate the NLRB process.

Cavuto doesn’t yet realize that in far too many cases, employers not only block the freedom of workers to form unions, they are actively hostile to the process. This isn’t limited to Cavuto—according to  <http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/01/08/survey-public-strongly-supports-employee-free-choice/> our latest survey, fewer than half of the general public understands that corporations use threats, intimidation, high-priced union-busting consultants and even illegal firings to prevent workers from bargaining for a better life.

Acuff noted that in the seven decades since the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB has handed down fewer than 50 decisions of union misconduct, compared to the many thousands of corporate acts of intimidation, harassment and even firing of workers that happen every year. That’s another statistic that’s obscured by anti-union hacks and should come as a shock to the pundits and reporters who buy the corporate line.

The Employee Free Choice Act doesn’t take any rights away from workers, and the big-money corporate front groups know it. That hasn’t stopped them from building a national disinformation campaign that has Cavuto so confused. What are they really scared of? They know that the Employee Free Choice Act would give employees the power to bargain for the better wages, benefits and conditions they deserve. For CEOs accustomed to big checks and no accountability, that’s a terrifying thought.

Here’s a message to Neil Cavuto and the media covering the Employee Free Choice Act: Stop taking the corporate lobbyists, lawyers and shills at their word, and start looking at the facts. Corporate misbehavior has prevented millions of workers from having the freedom to bargain for a better life, and the Employee Free Choice Act will restore the balance and put the power back where it belongs.

For More Information on EFCA please visit    <http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org/> http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org

Watch a new video on the Employee Free Choice Act  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CijNp_bqNsM> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CijNp_bqNsM

One Voice, One Agenda, One Movement!
 <http://www.wvaflcio.org/> www.WVAFLCIO.org

 

  _____  

Support the Employee Free Choice Act at  <http://www.araw.org/> www.araw.org.  

 

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