Global unions behind US passage of The Employee Free Choice Act

Passage of US Employee Free Choice Act is Key to Global Organizing Drive

- Labour news from UNI global union - for trade unions in a global services economy.

UNI Global Union has pledged the support of its 15 million members to build a worldwide solidarity campaign for US legislation that allow workers to join unions without fear of management retaliation.

The passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in the United States will benefit workers around the globe, said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings.

Jennings on Tuesday chaired a meeting with leaders of US unions affiliated to both the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win federation, who are working together to get the legislation passed. UNI President and UFCW President Joe Hansen and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney spoke at the opening of the meeting, which also included representatives from the International Trade Union Confederation and trade union centres from around the world.

The unions and union centres formed a task force to support joint global action to ensure the Free Choice act becomes law. They plan to use this model in other countries to support union organising and recognition.

“Having a law that protects workers’ right to unionise in the United States is vital to winning union recognition and bargaining rights world-wide,” Jennings said. “American companies have been exporting their abusive labour practices to every country they do business in and foreign companies have eagerly embraced those practices when they cross the US border. It is clear that without legislation protecting workers, multinational companies will treat workers as poorly as they can.”

If passed, the Employee Free Choice Act would give US workers a free and fair chance to form a union, hold anti-union employers accountable and force employers to stop dragging out contract negotiations.

More than half of U.S. workers—60 million—say they would join a union right now if they could but US-based companies routinely deny workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. The current labour law in the US allows these companies to fire pro-union employees and wage intimidating anti-union campaigns before elections. Even when unionising drives are successful, companies will contest the results, which can lead to years of delays or invalidation of a pro-union vote.

US-based employers like Wal-Mart have fought unions and engaged in illegal labour practices in countries like Argentina, Mexico and China.

European-based companies have entered the race to the bottom when it comes to their labour practices in the United States. Deutcshe Telekom, which has a collective bargaining agreement with German union ver.di in its home country of Germany, has waged a vicious anti-union campaign at its American subsidiary T-mobile.

“For too long, the US has led the race to the bottom on labour rights,” Jennings said. “Passing this new law would be a major victory for US workers and, in the midst of this global recession, it is more important than ever.”

UNI is calling on its member unions around the world to tell their government leaders to urge the Obama administration to make the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act a top priority.