Hoeffel Calls on Specter to Co-Sponsor Employee Free Choice Act
PHILADELPHIA , PA - Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Hoeffel today released the following statement regarding the Employee Free Choice Act:
"All American workers deserve the right to organize a union. That's why last November I was an original co-sponsor of H.R. 3619, The Employee Free Choice Act. I, along with a bipartisan roster of 206 of my House colleagues, believe that Congress should be working to make it possible for employees to unionize if they choose to do so, in order to bargain collectively for higher wages and improved benefits that American workers need and deserve.
"The Senate version of this bill, S. 1925, currently has 32 co-sponsors, but no Republicans. I call on Senator Specter to sign onto the Employee Free Choice Act. Senator Specter, who currently has a mere 46% rating with the AFL-CIO, has supported a failed Bush-Cheney economic agenda that has cost the state more than 160,000 manufacturing jobs and left more than 345,000 Pennsylvanians in unemployment lines.
"The Employee Free Choice Act is a step forward for collective bargaining rights. Under the EFCA, employees would be able to choose freely whether or not to join or form unions by signing a card authorizing union representation. The act also provides for mediation and arbitration for first contract disputes and increases civil fines against employers who willfully violate a worker's right to organize.
"This administration has been one of the most hostile to labor in history, and Pennsylvania workers deserve a Senator who will always support collective bargaining rights. With all this working against Pennsylvanians, my only question is what has taken Arlen Specter so long to realize this and why hasn't he put his name on this bill already?"