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Employee Free Choice Act

August 4, 2009
Floor Statement
Rep. Maxine Waters [D-CA]: Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act, and I thank the Gentleman from California [Mr. George Miller] for introducing this legislation and for bringing it to the Floor for workers in America. I am a proud original co-sponsor of H.R. 800.

H.R. 800 contains three very strong protections for unions. First, it streamlines the process for obtaining National Labor Relations Board certification when a majority of employees have signed up for representation. Second, it provides for easy referral to mediation and arbitration when an employer and a union cannot reach an agreement within 90 days of negotiations so that employees are guaranteed an opportunity to reach an agreement. Third, it enhances penalties for discrimination, unlawful discharge, and other violations of the labor laws.

According to a study conducted by the National Labor Relations Board, the probability of a pro-union worker being fired during an organizing campaign went up from half a percent in the period between 1970 and 1974 to one percent in the period between 1996 and 2000; between 2001 and 2005, this figure rose to 1.4 percent. America needs this legislation because workers are being mistreated and need strong and effective representation.

My State of California is home to the largest number of stakeholders in support of this legislation. Nationally, there were 15.4 million union members, and a little under half (7.5 million) lived in six states--California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. One of the main reasons why we need this legislation is because although these six states make up about half of the union members in the entire country, they only account for a mere one-third of the national wage and salary employment.

In California, there were 2,424,000 union members (16.5 percent of the state's workforce) in 2005 and 2,273,000 union members (or 15.7 percent of the state workforce) in 2006--which is the largest percentage in the country.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that nationally, in 2006, there were about 1.5 million wage and salary workers who were represented by a union--even though they were not members themselves. Therefore, this legislation will help America's workers even if they do not belong to a union.

This trend of retaliatory firing has played a major part in the sharp decline in organized labor. Organized labor went from 30 percent in the 1960s to just 13 percent in 2003--and during this period, America saw the largest upward redistribution of income in its history--according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

In addition, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2005 and 2006, the percentage of national union members fell from 12.5 percent to 12 percent. The actual number of union members decreased by 326,000 in 2006 to 15.4 million, and there has been a steady rate of decline from 20.1 percent in 1983.

Madam Chairman, this legislation is necessary and drafted to address very specific problems that organized labor faces. Livable wages, a decent work environment, and a fair dispute process are rights that we should all enjoy.

I support H.R. 800, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

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