Forwarded from Interfaith Worker Justice

Many religious traditions have recognized that the freedom to form unions and bargain collectively fall within their concepts of a commitment to justice for all. The Church fully supports the right of workers to form unions...to secure their rights to fair wages and working conditions. No one may deny the right to organize without attacking human dignity.

-- National Conference of Catholic Bishops' 1986 pastoral letter, Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy Jewish leaders, along with our Catholic and Protestant counterparts have always supported the labor movement and the rights of employees to form unions for the purpose of engaging in collective bargaining and attaining fairness in the workplace. We believe that permanent replacement of striking workers upsets the balance of power needed for collective bargaining, destroys the dignity of working people, and undermines the democratic values of this nation.

--Central Conference of American Rabbis' Preamble to the Workplace Fairness Resolution adopted at the 104th Annual Convention, 1993 Free collective bargaining has proved its values in our free society whenever the parties engaged in collective bargaining have acted in good faith to reach equitable and moral solutions of problems dealing with wages and working conditions.
--Christian Methodist Episcopal Church's Discipline of the CME Church, 1982

Simply put, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a commonsense approach to restoring workers' freedom to form and join unions. It requires an employer to recognize the union once a majority of workers sign cards authorizing union representation. It provides for mediation and arbitration of first-contract disputes and it authorizes stronger penalties for employers who violate the legal rights of workers trying to unionize and negotiate first contracts. The EFCA would ensure that when a majority of employees in a workplace decide to form a union, they could do so without the debilitating obstacles employers now use to block workers' free choice.

You and your congregation can make a difference by writing your members of Congress and urging them to support and co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act.

Dear Rep./Sen. ________________ I urge you to become a co-sponsor and to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act (House Bill 1696 and Senate Bill 842). Today in America, workers who try to unionize are routinely threatened, coerced, and fired. For his or her involvement in the struggle to gain a collective voice, an American worker is fired every 23 minutes. Americans need a stronger law that supports workers' basic freedom to choose to have union representation. Workers need protections to freely form unions to secure a decent standard of living, affordable health insurance, and safe workplaces. When one works, isn't it fair to expect adequate compensation, a healthy work environment, and access to proper care? Unions have proven to be the best opportunity for most working Americans to gain these rightful expectations. The Employee Free Choice Act ensures workers the right to choose a union without repercussions. Please become a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. If you are already a co-sponsor, thank you for your support. I look forward to working with you to guarantee that the workers in our state and nation have a voice in the workplace. Sincerely,
(Your name)