Dear Editor:

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) now before Congress makes it easier for employees to designate a bargaining agent, such as a union. I ask everyone to become informed about this legislation and ask Sens. Snowe and Collins to support it. This legislation gives employees of a bargaining unit the right to decide whether to call an election or use the card check method of approving or disapproving representation. Under current law, it’s the employers who do the deciding.

The Ellsworth American ran an editorial on March 12 that unfairly characterizes the EFCA; the editorial found fault with the provision that would confirm the right of workers to form or join a union by the card check method, that is by simply signing up. This is, of course, how most organizations are formed, from bowling teams to churches. History shows that employers have often intimidated and even fired employees in their attempts to influence the outcome of a future election.

The American middle class, whose heart is small business owners and union workers, is in trouble. As union membership has declined, wealth inequality has dramatically increased. According to a recent report by the Center for American Progress, a 5 percent increase in union workers would add $77 million to the Maine economy. I am talking here about unionization at Walmart and other large corporations and not about unionizing small businesses. The Employee Free Choice Act will strengthen the middle class.

Two years ago, the Employee Free Choice Act won a majority of bipartisan support in both houses of Congress, but was stopped in the Senate by a filibuster. Now, in the midst of our national economic crisis, it’s time for Sen. Collins and Sen. Snowe to stand with Maine’s workers and allow the Employee Free Choice Act to become law and play a part in rebuilding a fair and balanced economy.

Martha Dickinson
Ellsworth