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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Consolas'>(Thanks
to Mark.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt;
margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt'>
<p class=author4 align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:
20.0pt;font-family:"Arial Black","sans-serif";color:black;letter-spacing:-.7pt'>Cutting
Through the Spin about</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=author4 align=center style='text-align:center'><u><span
style='font-size:26.0pt;font-family:"Arial Black","sans-serif";color:black;
letter-spacing:-.7pt'>Employee <span style='text-transform:uppercase'>Free
Choice</span></span></u><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=author4 align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#333333'><img width=125
height=125 id=MA1.1232086917 src="cid:X.MA1.1232086917@aol.com"
alt="cid:X.MA1.1232086917@aol.com"></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=author4><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>By <a
href="http://blog.aflcio.org/?page_id=289"
title="http://blog.aflcio.org/?page_id=289"><span style='color:#DD0011;
text-decoration:none'>Seth Michaels</span></a>, Jan 13, 2009</span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>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 <a
href="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/against.cfm"
target="_self"
title="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/against.cfm"><b><span
style='color:#DD0011;text-decoration:none'>Employee Free Choice Act</span></b></a>,
he was pleasantly surprised to find that, contrary to corporate spin, the
Employee Free Choice Act does not take away the secret ballot process.</span><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>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.</span><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Cavuto—clearly
going on what he’s heard from the <a
href="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/against.cfm"
target="_self"
title="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/against.cfm"><b><span
style='color:#DD0011;text-decoration:none'>corporate shills and political
spinners</span></b></a> 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 <a
href="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/brokensystem.cfm"
target="_self"
title="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/brokensystem.cfm"><b><span
style='color:#DD0011;text-decoration:none'>the decision</span></b></a> of
whether to use a ballot or majority sign-up in the hands of the workers, not
their boss.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt'><b><span
style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Said
Acuff: I’m for workers being able to decide how they choose whether or not
they want to be in a union. </span></b><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt'><b><span
style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>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.</span></b><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>Here’s
another surprise from Acuff for those who rely on the corporate anti-union
campaign for information: Forming unions through <a
href="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/majoritysignup.cfm"
target="_self"
title="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/majoritysignup.cfm"><b><span
style='color:#DD0011;text-decoration:none'>majority sign-up</span></b></a> has
been legal for decades and works fine at workplaces around the country and
around the world. Unfortunately, that right can be <a
href="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/how/employerinterference.cfm"
target="_self"
title="http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/how/employerinterference.cfm"><b><span
style='color:#DD0011;text-decoration:none'>hijacked by bosses</span></b></a>,
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.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>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 <a
href="http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/01/08/survey-public-strongly-supports-employee-free-choice/"
target="_self"
title="http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/01/08/survey-public-strongly-supports-employee-free-choice/"><b><span
style='color:#DD0011;text-decoration:none'>our latest survey</span></b></a>,
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.</span><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>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.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>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.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.8pt;
line-height:12.25pt'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>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.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;line-height:16.8pt;background:#FAFAFA;moz-background-clip: initial;
moz-background-inline-policy: initial;moz-background-origin: initial;
background-position-x:0%;background-position-y:50%'><span style='font-family:
"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>For More Information on EFCA please visit</span><span
style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#555577'> <a
href="http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org/"
title="http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org/"><b><span style='color:#DD0011;
text-decoration:none'>http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org</span></b></a></span><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Watch a new video on the
Employee Free Choice Act</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:black'> </span><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
color:red'><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CijNp_bqNsM"
title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CijNp_bqNsM"><span style='color:red'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CijNp_bqNsM</span></a></span></b><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>One Voice, One Agenda, One Movement!</span></strong><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><br>
</span></b><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'><a href="http://www.wvaflcio.org/" title="http://www.wvaflcio.org/"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'>www.WVAFLCIO.org</span></a></span><span
style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div id=7962e57b3f3ccb0b7700278fd97090a8>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>
</span></div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Support
the Employee Free Choice Act at </span></i></b><a href="http://www.araw.org/"><b><i><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:blue'>www.araw.org</span></i></b></a><b><i><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>TO
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style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> with a Subject of
"Unsub Workers' Rights" or to </span><a
href="mailto:street_heat@pvaflcio.org"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Street
Heat is the AFL-CIO mobilization program. [Street Heat] is the e-newsletter of
the Mobilization Committee of the Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council in
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Affiliates and Delegates to these CLCs receive [Street Heat] unless they opt
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MA 01104<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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