American Rights at Work will host a Senate briefing, "A Solution to the Middle Class Squeeze: The Employee Free Choice Act," on Monday, May 21st from 12:30-1:30pm.  The event will feature workers, our Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell, and Wade Henderson, President and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Two recently released reports make the case for the Employee Free Choice Act:   

• The Institute for America's Future co-released with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) "The Employee Free Choice Act Impact on Health Care and Pension Benefits," a new report demonstrating how the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act would significantly increase the number of workers receiving health and pension benefits.
  

• The Human Rights Watch May 1 report, "Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart's Violation of US Workers' Right to Freedom of Association," received media attention in high-profile outlets such as "The New York Times," "The Wall Street Journal," "The Washington Post," and "The Guardian" on its dramatic findings and the group's endorsement of the Employee Free Choice Act.

1.  Senate Introduces Employee Free Choice Act.  Momentum continues for the Employee Free Choice Act!  On Thursday, March 29, Sen. Edward Kennedy introduced the legislation – S. 1041 – in the Senate.  We now move toward building a majority of support in the Senate for this critical bill.

2.  1st Senate Hearing Held on Legislation to Protect Workers & Strengthen Middle Class.  On Tuesday, March 27, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held the Senate’s first hearing on the Employee Free Choice Act.  Testifiers included New York University Professor of Law Cynthia Estlund, Economic Policy Institute President Lawrence Mishel, and Errol Hohrein, who was fired for trying to form a union in his workplace.  As a result of his experience, Hohrein proclaimed “Labor law in this country is broken, it doesn’t support working people. We’re on the brink and no one’s looking out for us. It’s time for the government to do the right thing and pass the Employee Free Choice Act.”  Watch the webcast of the hearing.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee just announced it will hold the Senate’s first hearing on the Employee Free Choice Act on Tuesday, March 27 at 10 am in Dirksen 430.  The hearing will examine how the legislation will restore economic opportunity for working families.  Click here for more information, or to view the post-hearing transcripts when they become available. 

And while the Employee Free Choice Act has not yet been introduced in the Senate, you can let your Senators know how much you care about this legislation.  Write your Senators to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act!

On March 1st the House of Representatives passed the Employee Free Choice Act!  Some 241 members, including 13 Republicans, supported the bill.  A majority of our elected officials stood up against a barrage of misinformation and hundreds of thousands of dollars of negative advertising to support the rights of millions of hard-working men and women.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of interfaith organizations, human rights groups, civil rights advocates, public interest organizations, academics, environmentalists, and our activists, working families won.

This is an incredible victory for all of us who care about a more just and fair society.  But this battle is not over yet.

To win back workers' rights, we need to ramp up our efforts for the upcoming Senate battle over this legislation.  By making a donation to American Rights at Work now, you'll help provide us with critical support for our efforts for the Senate debate.  These next few weeks could make the difference for America's workers—please donate today !

Our own Mary Beth Maxwell, Executive Director of American Rights at Work, was quoted for the piece:

"The notion that corporate lobbying coalitions and front groups are the new champions of workers' rights and democracy is laughable," Ms. Maxwell said.

Check out the whole article here.

If U.S. workers could earn higher wages, benefits, and better working conditions, who would be against them?

A powerful network of anti-union employers, conservative business associations, industry lobbying groups, and right-wing policy centers and policymakers seeks to shut down choice in the American workplace.  Get up-to-speed about the opponents of the Employee Free Choice Act by checking out our new backgrounder .