Today's the big day for the Employee Free Choice Act, which will be introduced in the House and Senate this afternoon. Surrounding the legislative kick-off are mass lobby efforts from both sides of the debate, who have been fighting this battle for two years. One labor flack compared the day to "Christmas" while a Capitol Hill reporter preferred to liken the day's drama to "D-Day." The first event of the day is a hearing of the Senate HELP Committee, that will be chaired by Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman Ted Kennedy's designated manager for EFCA. The hearing room is packed and the line wrapped around the entire Dirksen building. While waiting to gain entry to the room, I met Dan Lueavano, of Keenesburg, Colorado. In 2005, Luevano tried to organize a union at a company where he worked as an electrician, and was subsquently fired and then reinstated following an NLRB appeal. Today he's on the Hill with the AFL-CIO to lobby legislators for their votes on the bill. Asked about union organizer intimidation, Luevano said that he and his co-workers approached a local union themselves after they deciding they needed more voice in their workplace. He does concede, though, that many people who aren't familiar with union organizing campaigns don't understand the challenges faced by workers. On that note, today the Center for Economic and Policy Research released a study showing that in a quarter of union campaigns, pro-union workers are fired. The rate was 26 percent from 2001 to 2007. As Harkin delivered his opening statement, which includes an enumeration of the various benefits labor organizing has given to workers and the economy, he has been frequently interrupted with applause by the pro-union crowd in attendance. Republican Senator Lamar Alexander was none to pleased with the noisy show of support and asked that Harkin limit audience participation. The Chairman demurred. "I'll let people express themselves as they will."
-- Tim Fernholz
