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Union representation is good for workers, communities

By Jerry Hodge

Woodleaf

Published: March 24, 2009

The claim by business leaders, like Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce President and CEO David Bradley, who published a piece on March 15th (http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/mar/15/la...), that they are solely concerned for the democratic rights of their employees doesn't pass the laugh test. Pro-business forces like Bradley are launching a major campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act for one reason: they don't want employees to have more power to bargain with them for a better life.

More than half the people who don't already have a union say they would join one tomorrow if given the chance. It's no wonder. People who have union representation earn 30 percent more than people who don't and are much more likely to have health insurance and pensions.

Beyond being good for workers, unions are good for communities. Better wage and benefits through unions mean that more families can make it on their own - thus shifting the cost burden off the taxpayers' backs.

Unions also raise professional standards by giving workers a say in decisions that affect the quality of the products they make and the services they deliver. Unions train more workers each year than any organization outside the U.S. military. Our country needs unions.

Then why is the rate of unionism so low?

Because when workers decide to join together, employers respond with aggressive — and often illegal — anti-worker campaigns. Routinely, employers force workers to attend closed-door meetings, threaten to close the workplace and harass union supporters. One quarter of employers fire workers involved in trying to form a union, according to Kate Bronfenbrenner, a professor at Cornell University. Actions like these are illegal, but they happen every day.

Working people want unions. Our communities and our country need them. We need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to restore workers' freedom to form unions to bargain for a better life.