Roland Gutierrez: “I rise today to affirm my strong support for H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act. I would like to thank my colleague…”

“I rise today to affirm my strong support for H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act. I would like to thank my colleague, Chairman George Miller, for introducing this important legislation to ensure that workers have the light to organize a union if they choose, without being subjected to workplace abuses, economic coercion or threats by their employers. Union busting has become a lucrative industry at the cost of the American worker. When surveyed in 2006, a substantial majority, 58 percent, of eligible workers said that they would join a union if they could; however, union membership dropped below 10 percent in the private sector, bringing union membership to a record low. This discrepancy is directly related to the flawed National Labor Relation Board system as it applies to a fair and democratic election process. Under the current NLRB system, employers are allowed to pressure employees into voting against the union during an organizing drive by using economic coercion and continual threats.”