Right before the Fourth of July, American Rights at Work Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell had a letter published in the Washington Times that debunked bogus claims from the Chamber of Commerce.  The Chamber of Commerce is in the middle of a multi-million dollar anti-union ad operation against America's workers and the Employee Free Choice Act . 

Here's Mary Beth's letter that sets the record straight:

One of the greatest vehicles toward change for America's workers is the Employee Free Choice Act. Thus, this legislation has become the prime target for anti-worker employers ("It's in the cards for labor," Commentary, Sunday). Correcting every distortion from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce takes away from an honest discussion on the state of America's workers. However, your readers deserve to hear the perspective of those who actually care about workers' rights.

While the Chamber of Commerce claims that the legislation will eliminate the current union-election system, the bill itself clearly states that it will not. The bill instead provides workers with an alternative, proven system of majority sign-up, giving them the choice in how they choose to form their union. The Chamber also claims that this legislation will open the door to union intimidation. However, research from Adrienne Eaton of Rutgers University reveals that fewer than one in 20 workers report that the presence of a union organizer made them feel pressured to sign up for a union. In fact, workers report 50 percent less employer coercion during majority sign-up than in the current "election" system that favors employers. As for their fear of unions' effect on businesses, just look at successful employers like AT&T Inc., UPS Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. that have proved that businesses can thrive while respecting their workers' rights.

So why does the Chamber of Commerce so adamantly oppose this legislation? This big-business special-interest group speaks for the portion of corporations that don't want to provide their workers with a livable wage, health insurance or the opportunity for a better life. The Employee Free Choice Act will give the 60 million workers who want a union a meaningful chance to have one. The Chamber knows this will mean a voice at work for these men and women to fight for their rights, and it is willing to say and do anything to stop it.

Mary Beth Maxwell
Executive Director
American Rights at Work
Washington, DC

In response to these baseless attacks, American Rights at Work Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell issued the following statement...

»  Continue reading...

Have you ever wondered who Elaine Chao is? As the longest-serving member of George W. Bush’s cabinet, you’d expect a certain level of analysis of her activities as Secretary of Labor. But unlike her cohorts in the Bush administration, Elaine has escaped much-needed public scrutiny of her record.

Elaine Chao’s egregious policies include rollbacks of critical mine safety protections, hostility toward workers and their unions, and collaboration with corporate interests, most notably through her husband, Senator Mitch McConnell.

Find out more at ShameOnElaine.org.

Today the Las Vegas Sun looks behind conservatives' curtains and exposes the true intent of corporate-funded attacks on worker organizing drives.  Corporate-backed adman Richard Berman is known for attacking Mothers Against Drunk Driving and for claiming that second-hand smoke does not cause cancer, but his latest targets are teachers' unions.  Though he purports to fight for workers through his Center for Union Facts front group, Rick Berman betrayed his true intent:

What's not in doubt is that when Berman goes after the teachers, it will be brutal.

At the Sparks conference, he approvingly quoted mobster Al Capone: "You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word."

Political and labor observers are watching closely because as Berman acknowledged in his Sparks speech, his attack on teachers unions is really a small front in a much bigger battle over the future of the labor movement and its role in American politics. It's not clear Berman cares at all about education policy. His real target is the broader labor movement.

Just in time for Halloween, Stephen Colbert treats PR trickster Rick Berman to a smack down for his ludicrous campaigns against Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and other public interest groups. Last night on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, Stephen forced Berman to admit that consumers aren't asking him to defend their freedoms. It's corporations like the alcohol companies that are begging him to protect their profits.

Colbert: What do you do for the Center for Consumer Freedom?

Berman: I defend consumers' rights.

Colbert: So do consumers come to you and say, "Defend my rights"?

Berman: No, I figure out what's wrong with people's rights, and I -

Colbert: But who comes to you and says, "Here, here, defend our rights"?

Berman: I get up in the morning and I see crazy stuff and I say, "We gotta do something about that."

Colbert: Who's paying you?

Berman: Ah . . . lot's of people.

Colbert: Who?

Berman: Ah, actually consumers; actually businesses, and then of course -

Colbert: Businesses whose consumers are being denied the freedom to use their product?

When not wearing his Center for Consumer Freedom hat, Berman leads another front group, the Center for Union Facts, which mounts smear campaigns against unions in a similar fashion to his crusade against MADD. Last night's interview confirms that with Berman, it's all about money at the expense of safer roads, public health, and decent jobs.  Colbert appropriately makes us laugh at Berman instead of taking his rhetoric seriously. Check out the full interview.

Learn more on why you can't trust Rick Berman at the Anti-Union Network.