Yesterday’s exciting Employee Free Choice Act Coalition Lobby Day reinforced the crucial role our progressive partners are playing as we work to pass meaningful labor law reform this year. More than 300 small business owners, veterans, farmers, students, faith leaders, civil rights activists, women’s advocates, and environmentalists took to Capitol Hill to tell more than 100 of their Congressional leaders why the Employee Free Choice Act is important to them.

The delegates came from 101 cities in 15 states, and represented more than two dozen organizations.  More than 80 organizations supported the day of action with calls, emails, press releases, and their continued backing of workers, their unions, and the need for labor law reform.

Congressional staff members have heard from labor and business about the Employee Free Choice Act, but they were genuinely surprised to find large groups of constituents from non-labor organizations knocking on their door to remind them why this bill is vital to our economy and to our values as a nation. Our citizen lobbyists pressed them to continue making the Employee Free Choice Act a priority, echoing what they heard from new HELP Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin in the morning.

In all the excitement – and thankfully, lack of rain – we were reminded why so many people from so many walks of life are coming together to lend their voice to this cause. The participants spoke passionately about the role of the Employee Free Choice Act in bringing economic justice to our country and why they were coming to talk about the need for labor law reform. View more of what they had to say in this video by Sum of Change.

Pictures of the lobby day, courtesy of SEIU: