Enact Employee Free Choice Act to Reduce Poverty
April 25, 2007
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April 25, 2007 – A new report from the Center for American progress says enacting the Employee Free Choice Act is a key step in reducing the alarming poverty level in the U.S.
Roughly 37 million Americans live below the poverty line and millions more struggle just to pay for basic necessities. The report, From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half, outlines 12 key strategies to cut this country’s poverty levels in half over the next decade.
The report says a key step in reducing poverty and extreme income inequality is enacting the Employee Free Choice Act.
“Among workers in similar jobs, unionized work¬ers have higher pay, higher rates of health coverage, and better benefits than do non-unionized workers,” the report states. “Unions help non-unionized workers, too, by creating compet¬itive pressure for employers to improve their wages and benefits. Joining a union can be especially important,” it goes on to state.
Other strategies the report says would reduce poverty levels include: raising the minimum wage; guarantee child care assistance to low-income families; modernize means-tested benefits programs to develop a coordinated system that helps workers and families; ensure equity for low-wage workers in the Unemployment Insurance system.
Read more here.
