Dear _________:

I write to urge you to support the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 1925/H.R. 3619).

Employees who want to join a union ought to be able to do so simply by signing a membership form, just as they would join any other organization. When a majority of employees have joined a union, it should be authorized to negotiate with the employer. If employees are interested in hearing management’s views on whether a union would be helpful, they should be free to ask. But employees should not be forced to listen to management’s views. Current law, by forcing employees to go through a debate and election process, assumes they are not intelligent enough to decide whether or not to join a union without guidance from management and the government.

Many employers also use the current system to frustrate the will of the majority of employees. These employers hold captive meetings and make misleading claims, then deny the union access to the employees to tell their side of the story. Employers also intimidate employees by firing leaders of the organizing effort. This is technically a violation of the National Labor Relations Act, but the penalties are so trivial that they have no deterrent effect. Studies, such as those by Harvard Professor Paul Weiler, show that such abuses are not isolated events, but a consistent pattern.

It would be far better to change the law to allow employees who want to join a union to do so without going through an elaborate process that is prone to abuse.

I urge you to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

Please let me know your position on this issue.

Sincerely yours,

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