Statement by Edward J. McElroy,
President, American Federation of Teachers,
on Today’s Cloture Vote on the Employee Free Choice Act

Note: The U.S. Senate voted 51-48 today to end debate on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), falling short of the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and allow a vote on the bill.  Passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in March, EFCA would strengthen the ability of private sector employees to form unions freely and would stiffen penalties against employers who break the law during union drives.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—America’s workers and those who support them should be heartened by the fact that a majority of members of Congress in both chambers support EFCA and the freedom it would give workers to form unions. However, we must take notice of the Senate Republicans who used procedure to block a vote on this critical legislation.

We’d like to thank the 51 senators who voted for cloture today, including Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the lone Senate Republican who had the courage to cast a vote for workplace justice. We’d also like to acknowledge again the bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives who voted for EFCA last March. By standing with American workers, these elected officials are standing on the right side of history.

At the same time, we must hold accountable those elected officials who voted to deny working men and women a simple and fair path to joining a union. Their resistance underscores the need to elect candidates in 2008 who will advance the interests and well-being of America’s workers.

The current fight for workers’ rights is gaining momentum and will not be stopped. A union card is a tried-and-true ticket to the middle class, and the AFT and its members will continue to advocate for laws—at all levels of government—that safeguard the freedom of employees to join a union and bargain for a better life.

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