WASHINGTON, D.C – Today’s historic, bipartisan vote sends a powerful message that the U.S. House of Representatives stands on the side of working Americans. The U.S. Senate and the White House should now display an equal commitment to the rights of working people by doing their part to enact the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) into law as soon as possible.

Under the leadership of Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.), the House of Representatives has taken an important first step in fixing the nation’s current laws for forming unions. 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.

EFCA would remedy these wrongs and help ensure that workers have the right to bargain for a better life. By allowing more workers to choose the advantages of having a union, EFCA also will help strengthen America’s middle class, which today finds itself caught between stagnant paychecks and soaring living costs.

We thank all members of the House—both Democrats and Republicans—who stood with working families today. They recognize that fairness is an American value, not a partisan one. The AFT and millions of working people are now counting on the Senate and President Bush to follow suit. We urge them to do the right thing by protecting the fundamental right of workers to choose union membership.

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