April 2, 2009 - A trio of well-known corporations are trying to derail the Employee Free Choice Act with their own watered down version of labor “reform.” The CEOs of Starbucks, Costco and Whole Foods are shopping the halls of Capitol Hill with a bill they claim is a “fair compromise” to the Employee Free Choice Act.
The companies are proposing that the system for joining a union stays as-is, with employers still being given ample time to harass and intimidate workers before an election and no guarantee of a first contract. The bill even goes one step further by making it easier for corporations to get rid of a union after workers vote to join one.
“The legislation being brought forward by Starbucks, Costco and Whole Foods is nothing more than an attempt to distract from what Employee Free Choice is really about,” says IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. “Their proposal does absolutely nothing to level the playing field between workers and management. Under their plan, workers are no better off than they are now. They’ll still be subject to low wages, inadequate health care, and an uncertain retirement. Their ‘compromise’ is, frankly, useless.”
The Employee Free Choice Act does exactly what the title of the bill says it does: puts the power of choice into the hands of the employees – not companies. Employees, not companies, will be able to decide for themselves whether to join a union. CEOs will have to make room at the table when it comes time to talk wages and benefits.
Click here for more information on the Employee Free Choice Act and to send a letter to your legislator that it’s time to restore America’s middle class by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.
