Time to Fulfill the Promise of the National Labor Relations Act

July 14, 2010

Working families recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law protecting workers’ right to form or join a union and engage in collective bargaining.

Thanks to the NLRA, unions have built America’s middle class and lifted million of workers from poverty to prosperity. Still, too many naysayers claim that given our nation’s current economic predicament, we cannot afford to have unions.

Seriously?

As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said when he signed the Act into law on July, 5, 1935, the NLRA will help us achieve “common justice and economic advance.” This is exactly what the NLRA has done, despite the numerous obstacles Big Business and other anti-union forces keep throwing in its way.

Without organized labor, many of the things we take for granted – things workers in other nations can only dream of – would not exist. The eight-hour work day, the 40-hour week, safety and health regulations, pensions, vacation and sick days were all won through the power of collective bargaining. Do our detractors think employers provided these benefits out of simple generosity?

As Labor Secretary Hilda Solís pointed out recently on The Huffington Post, thanks to collective bargaining:

“Working people were able to share in the gains of their productivity and labor and management together forged creative solutions to create the powerful engine of the American economy we all are proud of.”

To really jumpstart our economy, we must rescue the middle class and help it grow. This is why AFSCME also supports initiatives such as the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would make it easier for millions of workers to join unions and stiffen penalties to employers who violate their right to do so.

Now – when our country needs it most – is time to fulfill the promise of the National Labor Relations Act and give workers the chance of a better tomorrow.