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Obama reaffirms support for Employee Free Choice Act

September 7, 2009, (by seiu.org)
     At Labor Day rallies in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, President Obama and Vice President Biden reaffirmed their support for the Employee Free Choice Act as a top priority of the administration.
     Biden resolved to pass the legislation by the end of the year.
     Their words come as Congress returns to Washington after its August recess and support for the bill gains steam.
    "Working families have much to be grateful for this Labor Day, including the most pro-working family Administration in generations," said Service Employees International (SEIU) President Andy Stern. "I share the Vice President's hope and belief that real labor law reform, the kind which hasn't been seen in decades, will pass in 2009. Finally, we'll put an end to the illegal, immoral and just plain unfair practices that working people face every day at the hands of their employers, purely for attempting to form a union."
     The Employee Free Choice Act would allow workers to bargain with their employers for job security, better wages and benefits.
     President Obama told the Cincinnati crowd: "That's why Secretary Solis has made it a priority at the Labor Department to protect workers - your safety, your benefits, your right to organize and bargain collectively. It's why some of the first executive orders I issued overturned the previous administration's attempts to stifle organized labor. It's why I support the Employee Free Choice Act-to level the playing field so it's easier for employees who want a union to form a union. Because when labor is strong, America is strong. When we all stand together, we all rise together."
     Meanwhile, Vice President Biden offered his own words of support at the annual Pittsburgh Labor Day parade.
     According to the Associated Press, "Vice President Joe Biden says labor built the middle class, and that he and Sen. Arlen Specter will continue fighting for workers. Biden spoke at a rally before Pittsburgh's annual Labor Day parade Monday. He assured the crowd of about 300 that he and Specter, D-Pa., wouldn't let workers down. Biden also said the administration will get the Employee Free Choice Act done this year."
     Also today, the labor coalition group American Rights at Work launched two new ads in support of the bill, "Fabric of America" and "We Don't Ask." The ads, which can be viewed at americanrightsatwork.org, are part of the sustained campaign from a broad coalition of labor and workers' rights advocates urging lawmakers to enact this critical piece of legislation.

Video: President Obama's Labor Day speech