Was there nothing worth fighting for?

By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
At an event to unveil the “Faces of the Employee Free Choice Act” campaign, actor Bradley Whitford said that, as the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act enters the legislative, the ugly legislative process, we must never forget the workers. This issue boils down to a simple fact. It is a fundamental right in this country for workers to be able to join unions and to bargain collectively,” said Whitford.

Addressing those who believe the act denies workers their right to a secret ballot, Whitford stated that “The Employee Free Choice Act does nothing of the kind.”

Whitford said that “without the protections provided by the Employee Free Choice Act, workers looking to join unions are subject to harassment, disinformation, and dismissal, because of a system that is exploited by, and stacked in favor of management.” He went on to say that we must not allow lawmakers to put their own job protection ahead of the protection of their working constituents.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) stated that “we’re losing the middle class, and when we lose the middle class, we lose America.” The facts are on our side and “if you want to save the middle class, if you want a prosperous America, then you should support the Employee Free Choice Act,” said Boxer.

Congressman Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) said that the difference now is that when a majority of employees sign up for a union, the employer gets to veto that choice. “We are saying the choice belongs not to the employer but to the employee.”

Actor Martin Sheen said that the Employee Free Choice Act will give American workers a fair and direct path to form unions through majority sign up. “It’s no secret that all too often workers are poorly treated when they try to gain a voice in the work place.”

Sheen told a story about a man who was asked to show his scars at the gates of heaven. Unable to reveal any, the man was asked, “was there nothing worth fighting for”? “That’s what this is all about,” said Sheen.