UUP, its affiliates and other unions around the country are applauding members of the U.S. House of Representatives on passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which gives workers the right to form unions without fear of “intimidation, coercion or the threat of losing their jobs.”

The EFCA passed in the House by a vote of 241-185, including 13 Republicans. To see how New York’s representatives voted, go to www.union voice.com/ct/Ed1cCwF1-cmN/.

The U.S. Senate and President Bush must still weigh in before EFCA becomes law.

“This historic, bipartisan vote sends a powerful message that the House stands on the side of working Americans,” said UUP President William Scheuerman, an AFT vice president. The AFT is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the Senate and the White House “display an equal commitment” to the rights of working people.

“The House has taken an important first step in fixing the nation’s laws for forming unions,” noted AFT President Edward McElroy. “These laws are flat-out broken. Millions of working Americans want to form a union for a voice on the job, and for wages and benefits that can support a family. Yet current law is stacked against workers, who routinely face intimidation, coercion and the threat of losing their jobs if they try to exercise their basic right to organize.”

The AFT also believes that passage of the EFCA will help to strengthen America’s middle class, which today finds itself caught between stagnant paychecks and skyrocketing living costs.

However, Scheuerman warns unionists not to give up the fight. He is calling on UUP members to join the fray by urging senators to protect the fundamental right of workers to choose union membership. To send a letter to senators, UUPers should go to the AFL-CIO Web site at www.unionvoice.org.

— Karen L. Mattison with affiliate reports