GivingAmerica's Workers a Free Choice

Washington D.C. - Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary and Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus made the following statement on today's passage of H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act:

"Americans have fought, suffered political persecution and died to win the right to form a union in this country, but for too long they have seen their ability to unionize slowly erode while Congress has sat idly by. Today, however, the House of Representatives has signaled that it is ready to pick up the mantle of workers' rights and has taken a giant step forward in addressing this unacceptable situation.

Every American has the right to join a union, but under current law it's the employer who gets to choose how. The Employee Free Choice Act reverses this practice; it gives workers the choice of how to organize - whether to hold an election using the current NLRB election process or by majority sign-up.

In passing H.R. 800, the House of Representatives has made the first step in bringing democracy back to the workplace. I will continue to fight to make sure that it is not the last."

In addition to allowing workers to form a union through majority sign-up, the Employee Free Choice Act would also:

• Stiffen penalties against employers that illegally fire or discriminate against workers for their union activity during an organizing or first contract drive, including requiring employers to pay treble back pay to workers whom they are found to have illegally fired; and

• Allow employers and newly formed unions to refer bargaining to mediation and, if necessary, binding arbitration if they are not able to agree on a first contract after 90 days of bargaining.

  ###03-01-2007###