More Than 1,600 Public Officials Back Employee Free Choice

[Omaha Steve]

by James Parks, Jan 24, 2008

Workers mobilizing to make passage of the Employee Free Choice Act a key issue in the 2008 elections are making sure local lawmakers are lining up behind the bill.

So far, 1,672 state and local elected officials across the country, including 18 governors and state legislatures, have signed up in support of the legislation either by backing a resolution or by signing on to a letter. Some 106 local county boards or city councils have passed resolutions urging their representatives to vote for employee choice.



At a recent meeting, the Johnstown (Pa.) City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. The Johnstown Regional Central Labor Council led the fight for the resolution, along with City Council member Nunzio Johncola, an AFSCME member.

So far, 33 municipalities and counties in Pennsylvania have passed resolutions in favor of the legislation. The Democratic State Committee also unanimously passed a resolution backing the Employee Free Choice Act at its quarterly meeting earlier this month.

If passed, the federal legislation would allow workers, not employers, to decide how they want to choose a union. Employers also would face stiff penalties for illegal behavior, such as being liable for fines of up to $20,000 per charge for violating labor laws.

When the Employee Free Choice Act becomes law, workers like Deirdre Kirkwood won’t have to risk their careers and their livelihood to fight for their rights. Earlier this month, Kirkwood was fired from her job as a nurse at Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside, Calif., while trying to form a union with United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals, an affiliate of AFSCME.