Employee Free Choice Act

Local Organizations who have endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act:

Americans for Democratic Action of Northeast Ohio
Community of Faith Assembly
God's Tabernacle of Faith Church
Heritage Community Baptist Church
Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula (HOLA)
Miracle Revival Ministry A/G
Ohio State Labor Party

Join with Cleveland Jobs with Justice as we mobilize to gather 10,000 signatures as part of the Million Signatures for the Employee Free Choice Act
Campaign!

We need your help! Does your union, church group or organization have a meeting or special event coming up that needs a speaker? We would be more than
happy to come out and talk about the Employee Free Choice Act and gather cards.

Would you like to get signatures at your workplace or organization? We can supply the cards! Just give Debbie a call at 440-333-7007 or email her at
debbie@clevelandjwj.org and we will make arrangements to have someone come out to give a presentation or drop off cards. Whatever you need.

View Tom Riley's Nightmare here!

What is the Employee Free Choice Act?

The explanation on the National AFL-CIO website says:

The Employee Free Choice Act, supported by a bipartisan coalition in Congress would enable working people to bargain for better wages, benefits and working
conditions by restoring workers’ freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. It would:

- Establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.

- Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.

- Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.

Remarks by Cleveland Councilwoman Dona Brady, March 2, 2009

Mr. President, I rise tonight to speak to Resolution 235-09,
The Employee Free Choice Act.

In 1935, the United States established, by law, that workers must be free to form unions and this law was recognized internationally by the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

Freedom of choice to join with others and bargain for better wages and benefits is essential to economic opportunity and good living standards.

Unions benefit communities by strengthening their living standards, stabilizing our tax bases, and promoting equal treatment among workers.

States in which more people are union members have higher wages, better benefits and better schools.

Unions help raise workers' pay for minorities and women by increasing the median weekly earnings by 31% for women; 36% for African Americans and 46% for
Latinos.

Union workers are more likely to have guaranteed health coverage and reliable pensions for their retirement.

77% of the public believes in protecting the freedom of workers to join a union.

When the right of workers to form a union is violated, wages fall, race and gender pay gaps widen, workplace discrimination increases and job safety standards
suffer.

A workers fundamental right to choose a union, free from coercion and intimidation, is a public issue that requires public policy solutions, including legislative
remedies.

The Employees Free Choice Act will safeguard workers' ability to make their own decisions about forming a union.

This council supports the Employee Free Choice Act, which would authorize the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as the bargaining representative
when a majority of employees voluntarily sign authorization cards designating a specific union to represent them.

I want to thank my colleagues for their support of this bill. As they know, the battle for economic justice is part of a national movement to help move our country
forward.

We live in a time of great potential. And those of us who can, will need to help push for progressive change.

According to American Rights at Work the Employee Free Choice Act would:

give workers a fair and direct path to form unions through majority sign-up, help employees secure a contract with their employer in a reasonable period of time,
and toughen penalties against employers who violate their workers' rights.

Why is this bill so important? It's plain as day: workers are struggling in this country. Today's workplaces are tilted in favor of lavishly-paid CEOs, who get golden
parachutes while middle-class families struggle to get by.

The Employee Free Choice Act can restore the balance, giving more workers a chance to form unions and get better health care, job security, and benefits – and
an opportunity to pursue their dreams.

City of Cleveland Passes Employee Free Choice Act Resolution

Check out the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor website and what they are saying about the Employee Free Choice Act here!

The following Cities in Cuyahoga County have passed Resolutions in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act!

a proud member of......

Employee Free Choice Act Resources!

Employee Free Choice Act introduced in both the U.S Senate (S.560 - Senator Ted Kennedy D-MA) and House (HR 1409 - Rep. George Miller - D-CA) !
Click here for an up-to-date list of the Senate co-sponsors and here for the House.