Employee Free Choice Act just what Maine's economy needs

Maine Voices Making it easier to form a union will improve workers' odds of job security and prosperity. James J. Campbell, SR. and PENNI THERIAULT We write as a state legislator and a small business owner who share Mainers' deep concerns about the state of our economy. While the federal government enacted an economic stimulus package, more must be done if we are to rebuild the American middle class and emerge from this crisis. This does not mean we need more government spending. Mainers are fed up with Wall Street firms and giant banks getting billions of dollars in bailout money at a time when unemployment continues to rise, more families are losing their homes and health-care costs are skyrocketing. Instead, common sense solutions should be used to create good jobs that an support a family and put money back into our economy. Historically, no institution has been as effective at improving the quality of life for working families as membership in a union. Union members earn better wages, have better health-care coverage and can count on a more secure retirement than non-union workers. As current and former union members ourselves, we know that unions work. Who brought us the weekend? Unions. Who rose with unions? The middle class. It just makes sense. Tens of millions of workers would join a union if they could. The problem is that if they try, and their employer resists, workers have only about a 20 percent chance of success. This is because the current system for forming a union is unfairly tilted in the employer's favor. That's just wrong. It's un-American and one more example of greed and power run amok. That is why we believe it is essential for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which will help Maine's economy get back on its feet by removing barriers to union membership and allowing workers, not just CEOs, to share in the economic success they help create on the job. The bill would enable workers to form a union when a majority of their co-workers sign cards indicating they want one. This puts the choice of how to form a union in the hands of workers, not corporations. Just as importantly, the act ensures that workers can freely choose to form a union without intimidation or harassment from their employers. And unlike the corporate bailouts costing taxpayers, and future generations of Americans, hundreds of billions of dollars, the Employee Free Choice Act doesn't cost taxpayers a dime. We are also both Republicans and some in our party oppose this bill. However, we do not view this issue through a partisan lens. We believe enabling more workers to form unions is about justice and fairness – bedrock principles that have guided our nation since its birth. For too long, big corporations have shunned these ideals and enriched themselves at the expense of America's working families. Today, the average CEO makes 344 times more than the average worker. So it is not surprising that CEOs and their Washington lobbyists oppose employee free choice. That opposition has taken the form of a multimillion-dollar is information campaign. The prime example is the role of the secret ballot election. Corporate interest groups claim the Employee Free Choice Act will eliminate elections as part of the union organizing process. This is simply false. The bill explicitly preserves and protects workers' rights to hold a secret ballot election when forming a union. The difference is that it is their choice whether to do so – not the corporations' or CEOs'. It is time to restore justice and fairness to our economy. Restoring the freedom of workers to form unions can play a central role in rebuilding a strong middle class that can drive the next era of American economic strength. When workers – from janitors to health-care workers – have been able to form unions, we see positive results for employees, for employers and for the public they serve. Representative James J. Campbell, Sr., R-Newfield, serves on the Health and Human Services Committee. Pennie Theriault is owner of Lots of Tots Child Care and president of Kids First, MSEA-SEIU. Published in the Portland Press Herald, March 12, 2009