Are supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act like Nazis?
In a recent editorial, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette Northwest Edition suggested that the supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act are Nazis. That is not a misprint, as it says in the final paragraph of the editorial: "Have you noticed? Political parties supposedly dedicated to the workers' welfare have a way of undermining their rights. They may begin by bullying management but wind up dictating to labor, too. And everybody else. For a European example to beware, note the sad history of the grandly named National Socialist German Workers Party, aka Nazis."
Such a characterization is morally repugnant, historically inaccurate and, more than anything, illustrates the desperate lengths that some anti-EFCA advocates have to go in order to attract attention their cause.
For those who may not be familiar with Employee Free Choice, it is based on three principles:
1. Workers have a free choice and a fair path to choose to form a union, free from intimidation
2. There are real penalties for employers who break the law
3. Companies should not be able to engage in endless delays and stalling tactics to deny workers a collective bargaining agreement.
More information can be found at: www.rabbis4workerschoice.com
The entire Arkansas Democrat Gazette Northwest editorial can be found at: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Editorial/264866/
A response in the form of an Op Ed piece has been sent to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, which we reproduce below:
On Employee Free Choice: Defending our history and our rights
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette should be ashamed of itself for equating support for labor law reform through the Employee Free Choice Act with Nazism in July 21's editorial "Card (check) trick." "Political parties supposedly dedicated to the workers' welfare have a way of undermining their rights," it opined on the current effort by leading Democrats to provide workers with a greater voice on the job. "For a European example to beware, note the sad history of the grandly named National Socialist German Workers Party, aka Nazis."
Such a characterization is morally repugnant and historically inaccurate. The memories of six million Jews, thousands of trade unionists, and countless others are desecrated by this canard. It deeply derides the legacy of our organization as well: the Jewish Labor Committee was founded in 1934 to oppose Nazi persecution of Jews, trade unionists and others. Such desperate rhetoric implies that the enemies of labor know they cannot win on the basis of rational argumentation.
Stating that union leaders are coercing workers into joining a union is such a distortion of the facts that it would be laughable were the issue not so important. Workers and unions are not separate entities as the editorial states; unions represent workers, are formed by workers, and give workers a democratic voice in collective bargaining for their rights that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Companies that engage in million-dollar industries to sabotage workers' right to organize make it necessary to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The act would give workers a simple path to union representation, ensure that workers who choose union representation achieve a first contract in a timely fashion, and strengthen penalties against employers who fail to comply.
Statistics from the National Labor Relations Board demonstrate that it is employers who wield the overwhelming balance of power in the workplace. Employers hold mandatory "information sessions" on the evils of unionization, control speech at the workplace and access to their employees, and routinely intimidate and penalize workers for exercising their legal right to choose union representation.
Workers caught up in the grinding "union avoidance" machine often find their lives destroyed. They lose their jobs, their homes, and their dignity. The price to society is equally high -- the loss of middle-class jobs once provided by robust, free trade unions that represented tens of millions of workers. Support for unions is especially important now, when working families are challenged more than ever. This is as true in Arkansas as it is elsewhere.
When workers succeed in organizing a union and bargaining for a first contract, it is heroic. If they survive an employer campaign against their efforts, then there is the struggle to get a first contract. Employer stalling tactics result in the average group of workers needing a full year from the time they achieve recognition as a unionized bargaining unit until they achieve their first contract. Forty-four percent of contracts are never signed because of management's stalling techniques. Just as management would prefer to avoid arbitration to negotiate the contract, unions don't necessarily want it either -- what they want is a guarantee that a contract gets signed! After all, if a contract is written but never signed, did the election for union representation ever really occur?
In an effort to devalue labor, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending millions of dollars to fight passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Why is the Chamber fighting so hard? Its members, America's major corporations, want to continue to ensure that employees march in lockstep to the beat of corporate America's drum. Is that freedom?
This is about the soul of American capitalism. Will we as a society value the workers who generate wealth or will we put the interests of corporations above all else? Will Congress stand with the vast majority of working men and women, who would join a union if they could do so without fear of harassment and intimidation? Will it promote a path to a renewed middle class? Or will Congress stand with the Chamber of Commerce and the very same corporations that drove the American economy into the recent recession?
This is about democracy in the workplace and about freedom of association. If The Arkansas Democrat Gazette wants to promote such values, they shouldn't slander unionists as Nazis. We suggest instead that they begin by recognizing that there are two legitimate sides sitting at the table -- labor and management. This would be a step towards honest, respectful relations at the workplace, and good-faith bargaining.
Sam Norich, Executive Committee Member, Jewish Labor Committee
Sybil Sanchez, Executive Director, Jewish Labor Committee
Melba Collins, Director, Arkansas Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
Alan Hughes, President, Arkansas AFL-CIO
Ricky Belk, Secretary-Treasurer, Arkansas AFL-CIO
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The Jewish Labor Committee was formed in February, 1934, by American Jewish trade union leaders in response to the rise of Nazism in Germany. It is the voice of the Jewish community in the labor movement and the voice of the labor movement in the Jewish community.