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By Jessie Ulibarri

Before he was fired, Errol Hohrein worked as a boilermaker at the Front Range Energy ethanol distillery in the northern Colorado town of Windsor. Like many of his co-workers, Hohrein was hired with the promise of good pay and affordable health-care benefits. Despite the distillery’s monthly million-dollar profits, the company callously reneged on their pledge of wage increases and benefits. Hohrein and his co-workers came together to form a union with the Steelworkers to bargain for better working conditions. The company fought the workers’ efforts tooth and nail, threatening the workers with lower wages and even threatening to fire Hohrein — a vocal union supporter.

Sure enough, after the union election, Hohrein was fired.

In Hohrein’s words, “It was revenge for my talking up the union.” The National Labor Relations Board’s office of general counsel agrees. In February of 2007, it charged Front Range with violating federal law by firing Hohrein.

Sadly, Errol Hohrein’s story is not unique. Every day corporations deny employees the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions to bargain for better wages and benefits. In 2005 alone, there were 31,358 cases of illegal firings and other forms of discrimination against workers for exercising their federally protected labor law rights.

Twenty percent of union activists are likely to be fired when trying to form unions, according to a new study by the Center for Economic Policy Research.

Seventy-eight percent of employers force supervisors to meet with the people they supervise, and urge them to vote “no.” Fifty-two percent of employers threaten deportation or other forms of retaliation during organizing drives that include undocumented- immigrant employees. In more than half of worker campaigns, employers threaten that the workplace will close if workers unionize, although 99 percent of plants remain open after organizing drives.

As a working-class person born and raised in Colorado, it has become painfully clear to me that working people in this state are being squeezed. The costs of housing, education and health care are on the rise. Household income in Colorado has dropped over the past five years.

If we add to this list the destructive effects of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, it’s clear Coloradans are being forced to carry the burden of a broken state budget while struggling to make ends meet.

For decades, unions have given workers a toehold in the middle class when everyone else has failed them. Workers who belong to unions earn 30 percent more than those who don’t and are much more likely to have employer- provided health coverage and pensions, according to government statistics. Beyond being good for workers, unions are good for communities. Better wages and benefits mean that more families can make it on their own — thus shifting the cost burden off the taxpayers’ backs.

But for too long now, working people have been denied the opportunity to have a union because employers routinely violate workers’ freedom to form unions and the law lacks the power to stop them. The result is an America where CEOs are showered with lavish pay packages while everyone else is struggling to get by.

Approved by a bipartisan majority in the House, the Employee Free Choice Act would protect workers trying to form unions by enacting new penalties when employers threaten workers’ rights and by bringing in an outside mediator to settle a first contract when the employer and workers can’t agree. The bill restores balance to the process of forming unions by giving workers, not bosses, the option of deciding how they will choose whether to form a union — either through ballot elections or majority sign-up, a process that enables people to form unions when a majority of employees indicate in writing that they want one.

We’re counting on Colorado’s U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar to stand up for working people like Errol Hohrein and his co-workers. They deserve better, and the Employee Free Choice Act is a solid first step to righting this terrible wrong.

Jessie Ulibarri is the director of the Colorado Progressive Coalition’s Campaign for Economic Justice (www.progressivecoalition.org).

READER COMMENTS

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To claim that the proposed legislation would take the fear out of unionizing is either twisted logic or an outright lie. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The ironically named “Employee Free Choice Act” in reality takes away the worker’s assurance of privacy and strips away the guaranteed protection from intimidation by union organizers and employers alike. The current system of a federally supervised secret ballot system allows workers to privately choose whether they want to be represented by a union or not.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the legislation, if passed, would replace the secret ballot election with a system called “card check.” Under a card check system, workers’ votes are made public to the employer, union organizers and co-workers. By mandating this process, the legislation tramples on the privacy of individual workers, who should not have to reveal to anyone how they vote on union representation. It is appalling that some members of Congress would actually vote to deny workers a private vote in the workplace that is free from intimidation and coercion.

This legislation is a shameful attempt by unions to secure by a legislative mandate what they are unable to do through offering services that majority of employees are willing to buy into. The sad reality is that this legislation is about robbing American workers of their rights to a fair election, free of fraud, when determining whether or not employees want union representation.

Ironically, a card check was used for union organizing during the 1930s and 1940s. In response to widespread intimidation of workers, Congress amended the National Labor Relations Act in 1947 and expressly provided that workers be given the right to a private ballot. Card check would turn back the clock 60 years to a failed system based upon intimidation.

Additionally, Unions falsely claim that The Employee Free Choice Act gives employees the option of using a card-check system and that the employees are still free to choose a private ballot process. The card-check process does not give employees a choice at all. Instead, it gives union organizers the choice of whether to organize through a card check process.

If the union chose to submit authorization cards, workers would be barred from seeking an election. In addition, the card check process can cut up to almost half of all employees out of the organizing process because the union only needs signatures from a simple majority in order to gain collective bargaining rights. During the card-check process, those employees who do not want a union do not have a voice and are in effect removed from the process of making decisions about their own jobs

Labor union leaders and their surrogate institutions claim that pro-union employees are often fired during traditional National Labor Relations Board-sanctioned unionization campaigns. But an analysis of data from the National Labor Relations Board reveals that unions' claims are wildly overblown and suffer from outdated assumptions and data. And, in fact, the number of elections involving an illegally fired employee is just 2 percent.

Those who falsely claim employers illegally fire a large number of employees during organizing drives cite to two studies, one by Cornell professor Kate Bronfenbrenner and another commissioned by the pro-union group American Rights at Work. Unfortunately, these reports are in fact surveys of uncorroborated reports of union organizers—hardly an unbiased source.

More importantly, if the NLRB finds that an employer illegally fired workers during an organizing drive it has the power to order the employer to recognize and bargain with the union, even if the union lost the election.

Not surprisingly, there are many examples where card check elections have been challenged on the basis of coercion, misrepresentation, forgery, fraud, peer pressure, intimidation and promised benefits by the UNIONS. In July 2002 testimony before a House Subcommittee, an employee described the various misrepresentations and coercive tactics used by union organizers in card check elections: Those who would not sign were greeted with threats of termination, deportation and loss of 401(k) and health benefits; and those who did sign were given promises of green cards, termination of supervisors, and free food.

Every employee has the legal right to decide if he or she wants union representation. This decision must be allowed to be made free from intimidation, coercion, threats or even actual violence by either union organizers or employers. Don't believe the union's propaganda - this legislation would strip all these protections away.

Most Coloradoans have a deep loathing for coerced unionism. This legislation is repugnant to all hard working men and women who do not want to belong to a union. The assertion that the majority of Colorado workers would willingly join a union if only they were allowed to do so through a card check system is absurd.

You should be afraid. Be very afraid as groups like Jessie’s that seek to push our country further toward socialism by taking away your right to a secret ballot in the workplace all in the name of helping the work-class!

Mark Latimer, President/CEO
Rocky Mountain Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors

Unions were great in the 1930s. They're worthless today. They are bastions for the uneducated, lazy and corrupt today. If people were willing to work, there would be no need for unions. Unions are the cancer of today's workforce. They will eventually cause us all to die.

Oh my. Well I was a member (forced) for 12 years. The only thing the union did was to threaten my income and make the officials of the union comfortable. We had health insurance but only if we paid for it. It was the platinum plan and most of us couldn't afford it but we paid the premiums for the union reps. When given a chance to dump the union we voted overwhelmingly to do so and got de-railed by the NLRB because of "irregularities" in the election. At the end the union was dissolved and the pension plan we paid in to for the entire time disappeared. It was Yellow Cab and the union officials who were in charge of the pension fund anwsered questions about where the 300K went.. Answer was "we shredded the documents and we don't know/remember anything." The Denver DA and others found it to be too small to worry about.
Unions spread money during elections as they wish not as the members want.
I admire Wal-Mart because they treat unions like the poison they are even when it costs them a bunch of money. Yes unions were useful at one time but now they are nothing but a relic that needs to be discarded. Strikes used to do something. Now they only show the power of union officials who want a few scalps on their belt. Perhaps unions could reform to the point where they are useful but with government regulations, civil laws and other changes we no longer need them and that is why they want this law so they can cheat the votes when workers vote on unions. That is why it needs to be defeated. We don't need or want any more greedy unions living off of the backs of workers.
By the way, our union defended drivers who had six accidents in a month but tried to throw others, who objected to being forced to be in the union, under the bus. Didin't work because the driver they tried it on had legal training and he brought in legal documents at his "driver's board" and only showed them to the union rep after they were in the room. The rep tried to bug out but the driver showed a tape recorder and explained what would happen if the rep left the room. Needless to say the driver's board didn't side with the company and the union rep cursed out the driver and promised that they would "get you next time." Of course by the time next time came by the union had gone bankrupt and all the older drivers who had twenty or more years in the union had nothing to show for all their pension contributions but excuses and lies. That is the only thing most members will ever get from a union except for demands for more money.
I am standing against unions because I want my grand daughter to have a chance to work without having her pocket picked by power hungry leaches who will pay off politicans with her money to do what they want without regard for her opinions. I want her to be able to work without people telling her she has to leave her job and march on a picket line so the union can win some demands that mean more to the union than to the workers.
I have been a political activist for years and every chance I get I oppose unions and their demands.

Get an education, then get a real job....you won't need a union to speak for you. President and CEO is correct if you want more money and benefits, earn it!!! What a bunch of pathetic whiners....one person here wants rent control others think unions are the end all..beat all to the woes of the working person. Ha, I laugh every time I see the union fools picketing a business as I drive by in my Mercedes. While they're standing around waiting for some guys in suits to bargain for they're future I make my own future. As I said...get an eduation, then get a real job that pays real money and you won't need that union welfare........fools!

President and CEO: it just goes to show why you should get an education and realize why unions are needed. Your knowledge about the steel industry's failures is lacking and it's failure wasn't caused by the unions. It is caused by the cheap steel being imported from countries that pay slave wages. Detroit's problem is they have been behind the technology curve in fuel efficient cars and that is not the unions fault either. Yes, other countries are beating us in production, but they do it at the expense of their own people. The comment about "bottom tier workers" makes me wonder what you really mean as well. I hope your not meaning Mentally/Physically challenged individuals. I will assume that you are talking about those who don't work hard as the rest (unproductive worker). If that is the case, again this shows your lack of knowledge in the area of labor-management relations. Management can discipline and fire unproductive workers as long as they follow the union contract they (the company) agreed too and signed. I've seen people removed and they were union members. By the way, you may have built your company with YOUR money and sweat in the beginning, but it is the workers who sweat for you now. Also unions do have a stake in how your business succeeds and you are right, jobs are the big reason. So I believe it is time for you to attend a workshop on Unions and their benefits.

The only thing unions built in this country is a system that protects the bottom tier workers. Unions destroyed America's steel industry and now Detroit, once the home of world Automotive manufacturing, is about to fall behind Japan. What’s really interesting is these other countries are beating the pants off American companies using non-unionized labor. Mr. Ulibarri, the companies are not in business for your benefit, they exist to make a profit period. If you and your union believe you know how to do it better, then form your own company and show the rest of us how it's done. If my employees attempted to unionize I would do everything in my power to break it. I built my company with MY money, MY blood, sweat and tears and ultimately, if the company fails it is MY risk. Unions have no stake in the failing of a company other than loss of jobs. You see Mr. Ulibarri it is my company and I do not hire Illegal Immigrants and I would never want to hire the likes of you. I pay decent wages and benefits, but it may not be to the liking of people like you. So, to you and your union cronies I say too bad, if employees don't like working for my company, they know where to find the door. For those that stay with my company and demonstrate loyalty through the good and bad times, I will reward them with pay raises and increased benefits. I think you can see where I'm going, I reward effort and loyalty, not demands and threats.

Unions built the middle class in this country and anyone who dont think thats so is either brainwashed or not too smart to begin with. Unions are why child labor came to an end in the early 1900's, unions are why retirement with dignity came to be, unions are why employer medical coverage came to be, unions are why the 40 work week came to be, unions are why women cant be fired from jobs for simply getting pregnant, unions are why less people get hurt on the job than years ago, and most importantly unions are why America isnt a society of rich and poor (even though the republicans would love it to be). Mommy Y said walmart did good by throwing millions away to simply squash unions, that makes no sense at all, but like I said some people out there are plain stupid. And as far as unions forcing people to strike, sure unions strike at times, how do you think they got the insurances, better pay, and better working conditions like the 40 hour week. Apparently mommy y never took a stand on anything in her life and would just simply like to go through life being fooled by the rich power brokers. With out unions this country will be no better than China, or Africa. Open your eyes america and stand up and have a voice for you and your kids..

Employees who want to bargain for better health, retirement, and working conditions should be allowed to join the AFL-CIO. Equally important, rents must continue to remain controlled under stabilization laws in order to prevent anarchy resulting from decontrolled rents. This could cause an outrageous increase in the homeless population. Just as workers should be permitted to bargain with management in good faith, tenants should also be allowed to bargain with landlords in good faith, when it comes to signing new rent leases. Every working person should be allowed to live a very happy, comfortable, and stable life, with the opportunity to retire around the age of 62 and take easier, more enjoyable work if that person wants to continue working.

Sincerely,
Martin Reiss

Thanks, Jessie for a clear and powerful explanation of the deterioriation of worker's rights in the process of deciding whether or not to unionize--and who benefits from the situation.
Without the Employee Free Choice Act the law is unfortunately structured in favor of the vast majority of employers who pursue illegal anti-Union campaigns during organizing campaigns.
Without such a mechanism of enforcing provisions of the National Labor Relations Act to protect workers who decided to stand together to defend their rights and the value of their work, I fear that inequalities in wages, health care, and education in this country will continue to spiral out of control.
Why protect the "rights" of big business to violate the law and underpay the workers who grow their profits and our economy so a few CEOs can make millions?

Oh that evil taxpayers bill of rights again. I guess letting us keep more of what we earn and making the government ask permission for tax increases is wrong.
Well unions, and I have been an involuntary union member, are allowed to attempt to organize. And deporting illegals is legitimate. Hiring them in the first place is what's wrong.
And calling a mail in ballot that can be cheated in a dozen ways a "free choice" is nonsense. Unions have the right to atttempt to organize. Wise workers realize that handing money over to a union to negotiate for you is silly. Handing money over to a union that can order you to stop working (strike) and lose your paycheck is insane. The reason unionization fails is that the corruption of the unions and their pandering to politicans who don't have the best interests of the workers in mind results in people rejecting the unions. Personally I adore the Wal-Mart solution to unions..When the meat cutters approved a union they had just spent millions building meat cutting areas in many stores. They totally eliminated meat cutting so those who voted for a union voted themselves out of a job. Just because some businesses can't close when they are hijacked by a union doesn't make anyone better off. Most just reduce labor costs by firing some workers. Wal-Mart did it right and they have closed entire stores to make their point They did it before and all workers know that they will do it again because allowing a union in is the shortest path to poverty for all except the union officials. Here's hoping he senate is wise enought to stomp on this union based, illegal power grab. Even Ken (give me a ho rah in Spanish) Salazar should realize it is a bad idea to let the fox not only be in charge of the henhouse but to let that same fox count all the eggs without the farmer getting any input is nuts..Thanks for the reminder to let them know what a piece of garbage this legislation is.

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