http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5332415&mesg_id=5332415http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=contact.contactformHere's mine:
Senator Specter,
I am writing to express my disappointment over your decision to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, and your assertion that you will vote against cloture in the Senate vote. This bill represents the best opportunity for WORKING AMERICANS to freely choose to join a union, and help remedy the ever increasing economic inequality which has occurred alongside the DECADES old downward spiral of unionization in this country, which, in my humble opinion, is not coincidental, but can be AT LEAST partially attributed to this trend.
The essence of what labor unions do—give workers a stronger voice so that they can get a fair share of the economic growth they help create—is and has always been important to making the economy work for all Americans. And unions only become more important as the economy worsens.
One of the primary reasons why our current recession endures is that workers do not have the purchasing power they need to drive our economy. Even when times were relatively good, workers were getting SQUEEZED. Income for the median working age household fell by about $2,000 between 2000 and 2007, and it could fall even further as the economy continues to decline. Consumer activity accounts for roughly 70 percent of our nation’s economy, and for a while workers were able to use debt to sustain their consumption. Yet debt-driven consumption is not sustainable, AS WE ARE PLAINLY SEEING.
What IS sustainable is an economy where workers are adequately rewarded and have the income they need to purchase goods. This is where unions come in.
Unions paved the way to the middle class for millions of American workers and pioneered benefits such as paid health care and pensions along the way. Even today, union workers earn significantly more on average than their non-union counterparts, and union employers are more likely to provide benefits. And non-union workers—particularly in highly unionized industries—receive financial benefits from employers who increase wages to approach what unions would win in order to avoid unionization.
Unfortunately, declining unionization rates mean that workers are less likely to receive good wages and be rewarded for their increases in productivity. The Employee Free Choice Act, which is one of the most important issues debated by the 111th Congress, holds the promise of boosting unionization rates and improving millions of Americans’ economic standing and workplace conditions.
The Employee Free Choice Act would help to overcome increasingly difficult obstacles, which are inherent in the National Labor Relations Act for workers who choose to exercise their Right to unionize. The Employee Free Choice Act would effectively reduce roadblocks in the NLRA, which in its complexity, presents ENDLESS delays, roadblocks, and maneuvers that deter unions from forming and frustrate would be members. The NLRA seemingly does not hamper these obstacles, rather, it APPEARS TO SUGGEST them and define strategies to those who oppose unionization.
I wrote more, but that is the gist of it.
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