Republicans Block Workers Rights Bill
Today the Republicans decided they did not want the Employee Free Choice Act to pass through the Senate, so they voted to continue debate (effectively filibuster) the bill. The vote was 51-48 with the Democrats united and joined by Sen. Arlen Specter. The bill had already passed the House, but it faced a presidential veto. This defeat was not unexpected, but the fight was just the first one of a longer campaign.
But the momentum for this bill is growing. The grassroots movement behind this legislation is bigger and more exciting than anyone believed last year. Working families across the country mounted a massive campaign to win passage of the bill. Sixteen governors and nearly 1,300 state and local elected officials expressed support for the legislation in all 50 states. Seven presidential candidates also backed the bill.
Working families held more than 100 rallies last week across the country demanding that Congress restore the fundamental freedom to join a union and bargain for a better life. More than 4,500 workers and elected officials rallied on Capitol Hill June 19 to urge support for the legislation. Middle-class Americans generated 50,000 telephone calls to the Senate, 156,000 faxes and e-mail messages and 220,000 postcards, including 120,000 delivered to the Senate last week.
Even though the cloture vote fell short, this vote is a step forward because it is the first time in a generation that a majority of the U.S. Senate has voted for workers’ rights. Click here to see how your senators voted.
Both Houses are now on record with a majority supporting working rights. It is disappointing to see a handful of Republicans deny a real vote on the bill. But onwards and upwards. The Employee Free Choice Act will be back. After-all, the need for workers rights is only increasing.