I le tolusefulu tausaga talu ai, na latalata atili ai iuni i le faamalosia o le Tulafono a Wagner nai lo se isi lava taimi talu ona faʻatulafonoina e le Konekeresi le galuega a le "Magna Carta" i le 1935. I le taimi muamua ma le na o le nofoaiga a Jimmy Carter, na latou maua ai le manuia o le tele o le Watergate-related Congressional manumalo a le Democrats. i le 1974—ma, fa tausaga mulimuli ane, 61 Senate Democrats. Ae, ina ua faʻaofiina se pili e ono faʻavavevave ai le palota a le National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), fesoasoani i le faʻateʻaina o le au faʻalapotopotoga, ma faʻasalaina iuni-faʻaleagaina tagata e ana galuega, na faʻaumatia le toe fuataʻiga o tulafono i le Senate, ina ua maeʻa le osofaʻi o le White House i lana pule. e fai ma sui.  I le tolu sefulu tausaga talu ona maeʻa lena faʻaletonu faʻapolokiki-ma o se vaega ona o lea-o Iuni a Amerika ua na o le 12.1 pasene o le aofaʻi o tagata faigaluega. I totonu o le National Labor Relations Act-e aofia ai vaega tumaoti, o le mamafa o iuni ua paʻu i lalo i le 7.5%.

 

Fa'afetai i le ta'uta'ua i tua e faasaga i le tatou pulega fa'aletulafono a le Republican, ua toe suia foi le Konekeresi mo le lelei, i le 2006, ma fa'atupula'ia ai le fa'amoemoe fou mo le toe fuata'iina o tulafono o tagata faigaluega. O le tausaga nei, ua una’ia ai sui o le iuni e filifilia ni vaega to’atele a le Democratic i totonu o le Maota ma le Senate, fa’atasi ai ma se peresetene fou, o lea e mafai ai ona fa’atulafonoina le tulafono e ta’ua o le Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) i le 2009. O le NLRA e sili atu ona taua i le ola faʻatasi i aso nei nai lo le 30 tausaga talu ai, e aoga le suʻesuʻeina o le tauvaga o loʻo i ai nei mo le EFCA. (1) Pe na fa'aaoga lelei ea lesona o fa'ato'ilalo ua tuana'i i le taumafaiga fa'afou a le aufaigaluega e fa'amalosia le aia tatau e fa'amaopoopo ai? E mafai ona manumalo le AFL-CIO ma le Suiga Ina ia Manumalo (CTW) i lenei mataupu ina ua matua faʻaitiitia le aofaʻi o tagata faigaluega ma le malosi faʻapolokiki talu mai le tuai o 1970s?  Even if enacted, will EFCA enable unions to overcome widespread employer resistance to collective bargaining in the U.S.?

 

I le avea ai o se faʻataʻitaʻiga o laʻei mo la latou unaʻiga mo le toe fuataʻiina o tulafono a tagata faigaluega i le tausaga a sau, na faʻamalosia ai e iuni le palota a le Maota i luga o le EFCA ia Mati, 2007, e ui lava e leai ni a latou uo Temokalasi i le "sili-tele" i le Senate ma o Peresitene Bush semanu e veto. o le pili lava. I faʻasalalauga, faʻasalalauga, ma faʻasalalauga faʻasalalau i le atunuʻu, na faʻamatalaina e le au ofisa o le iuni ma tagata faigaluega faʻateʻaina le auala e faia ai e le EFCA se eseesega i le faʻatulagaina o iuni ma fefaʻatauaʻiga muamua. O le a fa'amalosia le pulega e fa'ailoa vaega fou o fefa'ataua'iga e fa'atatau i se fa'aaliga o le to'atele o tagata faigaluega (i se iunite talafeagai) sa sainia pepa fa'atagaina a iuni. O le a le toe mafai e tagata e ana galuega ona finau i le palota a le NLRB, i le faʻaaogaina o faʻatuai faʻatasi ma avanoa mo faʻasalalauga faʻatulafonoina (ma le faʻatulafonoina). O tagata faigaluega na fa'ate'aina ona o le fa'atulagaina o le a agavaa mo le "fa'aleagaina fa'atolu"—faatolu ona leiloa o latou totogi-nai lo le na'o le "totogi tua" to'ese "tupe maua le tumau." O isi faiga le talafeagai o tagata faigaluega-o lea ua “faasalaina” i le na o le lafoina o se faasilasilaga-e mafai ona iu i se sala tupe e $20,000 (pe a maua ma le loto i ai po o le solia pea o le Tulafono). Mulimuli ane, o le a faia e le EFCA se faiga fa'a-Kanatana o le fa'atalanoaga muamua ma le fa'amasinoga. O feutanaiga fa'akonekarate muamua e le'i fo'ia e mafai, i talosaga a le iuni, ona avea ma mataupu o le fa'atulafonoina o le fa'amasinoga e o'o atu ai i tuutuuga fa'akonekarate. Ole mea lea ole a fa'afaigata ai mo tagata e ana galuega ona fa'aogaina faiga fa'atauva'a leaga e fai ma a latou laina lona lua o le puipuiga mai iuni-e pei ona faia e le to'atele ina ua faia'ina se palota o sui tauva.

 

O le au tetee a le EFCA na latou faalauiloaina se faiga faamaopoopo lelei e tetee atu ai i le pili i le 2007-i se tau matutu o le tele atu o le pulega tetee-taupulega sa faamoemoe i le tausaga a sau. I op-eds, faʻasalalauga totogi, meli anti-EFCA, tautalaga, ma upega tafaʻilagi, na puipuia e le aufaipisinisi le paʻia o palota faalilolilo a le NLRB, ma faʻaalia ai le "siaki pepa" a le aufaigaluega e matua sese, le faatemokalasi, ma e oʻo lava i le "le-Amerika. .” O le iuga o le palota e 241 i le 185 a le Maota. I le tolu masina mulimuli ane, na siitia ai le 51 sui o le Senate e aumai i se palota i luga o le fola-e sili atu nai lo le 60 e manaʻomia e taofi ai se filibuster Republican. I le taimi nei, i luga o le auala o le tauvaga a le peresetene, na lagolagoina e sui tauva Democratic uma le pili, e ui lava na o John Edwards na talanoa tele e uiga i le EFCA i luma o tagata e le o ni tagata faigaluega.  When he was pursuing the “labor vote” in Ohio’s Democratic primary, the eventual nominee, Barack Obama told a blue-collar crowd in Lorain:

 

“If a majority of workers want a union, they should get a union. It’s that simple. We need to stand up to the business lobby and pass the Employee Free Choice Act. That’s why I’ve been fighting for it in the Senate and that’s why I’ll make it the law of the land when I’m president of the United States.” (2)

 

 

 Obama’s primary rival, Hillary Clinton, also pledged her support for EFCA, although in a private meeting with top AFL-CIO officials in early 2007, she suggested (somewhat gratuitously in light of her own “high negatives”) that labor’s public image might be an impediment to its passage. As a candidate, Clinton carried the taint of her husband’s dismal record on labor law reform. During his first term, fourteen years after Carter’s attempted overhaul of the Wagner Act, Bill Clinton put labor’s top legislative priority on the back burner by creating a presidential study commission.  O le "Komisi i le Lumanai o Fegalegaleaiga a le Aufaigaluega ma Pulega" na faʻaaluina le 1993-4 i le aoina o molimau ma taumafai e faʻamaumau sootaga i le va o le "faigaluega sui" ma le "tauva faʻatauvaʻa."  Unfortunately for labor, this two-year period was the only time when the Democrats had a majority in both the House and Senate—and, thus, the ability to enact pro-worker legislation. Dunlop Commission proposals, some of which weren’t even helpful to unions, ended up being dead on arrival due to mid-term election victories in 1994 that gave Republicans control over Congress for the rest of Clinton’s presidency.

 

O le a'oa'oina mai lea fa'aletonu, o lo'o fa'amoemoe nei le au toe fuata'i tulafono a tagata faigaluega o la latou galuega sauniuni i le 2007 ma le fa'aauauina o le vevesi i le tuuga o le 2008 o le a faamalosia ai se palota i le EFCA i le amataga o le pulega a Obama. O le Fofoga Fetalai o le Maota Nancy Pelosi ma le Democratic Majority Leader George Miller ua tautino e unai le White House i luma i luga o le mataupu e aunoa ma ni komisi Clinton-style, faatuai, po o faiga faaupufai "tafatolu." Ae le o a latou paaga uma, tuai pe fou, o le a faʻatuatuaina e pei o le taʻitaʻi o le Maota. I se feau talu ai nei i sui o le United Electrical Workers, na lapataia ai e le faatonu faaupufai o le Iuni Chris Townsend  "Faasagatau i telefoni faʻapolokiki o loʻo mananaʻo tatou te manatu o loʻo latou lagolagoina le EFCA ae o ai o le a maʻalili pe a faʻalagolago ia i latou le au fai pisinisi tetele (ma le au fai saofaga) pe a toe oʻo mai le pili i luma o le Konekeresi." (3) O le palota a le Maota ma le Senate i le 2007 o se laasaga taua i le toe fuataʻiina o tulafono o tagata faigaluega-ae, i le tulaga o le taunuuga, o palota ia e "le taulia." Na iloa e tagata uma o le EFCA e leʻi toe avea ma tulafono i lena taimi, lea na mafai ai e le aufaigaluega sili atu le mafanafana o "uo" ona faia se "pro-union" e leai se taunuuga moni.

 

In addition to their campaigning for Obama, private sector unions have spent much of 2008 shoring up the shakier Senate Democrats and trying to insure that any Democratic candidates who join them in January are already committed to EFCA. (In labor’s best-case election scenario, Democrats will gain nine additional Senate seats on Nov. 4 and, at long last, the ability to overcome a Republican filibuster.) Members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and other unions have been deployed around the country to educate politicians about the experience of workers already covered by EFCA-type procedures for “card check” recognition. In Arkansas, for example, AT&T wireless customer service reps visited U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, a past EFCA fence-sitter, to recount how management had used threats, intimidation, and harassment to thwart past union activity. When ownership of their call center in Little Rock changed, workers were able to unionize, without interference, under a negotiated agreement that obligated management to remain neutral and authorized the American Arbitration Association (AAA) to certify CWA based on its “card majority.”

 

Among the 20,000 or more AT&T workers who have won bargaining rights in similar fashion since 2004 is a group of 600 located in Dover, New Hampshire. Their CWA organizing committee had a meeting with former N.H. governor Jean Shaheen, who pledged to become an EFCA during her 2008 race against a GOP incumbent, Senator John Sununu. The Dover workers explained to Shaheen how CWA Local 1298 was became their bargaining representative after a AAA card count in October, 2007. (This win was the biggest private sector organizing victory in the “Live Free or Die” state in three decades.) However, negotiations on a first contract with AT&T were delayed for several months due to the new notice posting and waiting period requirement imposed by the NLRB in its Dana/Metaldyne case decisions. (4) In those rulings, Bush appointees to the Board tried to undermine privately negotiated recognition agreements by giving anti-union workers 45-days, after certification via card check, to petition for a decertification vote. Thus if 30 percent of the workers in a new unit sign up, they can bring in the NLRB to hold an election—even after a majority of the workforce has just authorized a union to represent them! At AT&T in Dover, an effective in-plant campaign thwarted any minority bid for a decertification vote; but a year later, several hundred workers have been laid off and the survivors still have no first contract, illustrating the difficulty of getting one even at a firm regarded as “union-friendly). (In Dover, AT&T is not serving telecom customers but rather acting as a passport processing contractor for the U.S. State Department, which has complicated the bargaining by threatening to take the work elsewhere.)

 

E ala i le tuʻuina atu o se faʻalavelave fou i le ala o le siakiina o kata ma, e ono mafai, faʻamalosia atili le faʻatulagaina i tua i le malae o  palota a le NLRB,  Na tuuina atu e Dana i iuni e sili ona aafia i le "faatulagaina e le o se Komiti Faatonu" se faaosofiaga faaopoopo e manumalo ai i le EFCA.  E tusa lava pe toe le manuia le suiga o le NLRA i le Konekeresi, o le faaiuga a Dana e mafai ona toe suia mulimuli ane, e aunoa ma le teuteuina o le tulafono, e ala i le pulega Temokalasi o le White House. Ae o so'o se fa'aliliuga lautele atu o fa'ai'uga a le 'aufaigaluega a le "Bush Board" e mana'omia ai le tofiaina o le peresetene o le to'atele o tagata faigaluega a le NLRB ma le tele o tausaga o fa'amasinoga ma/po'o tulafono a le lala sooupu. E le gata i lea, e pei ona taʻua e le tusitala o le Nation Max Fraser, "O le tele o komiti faʻatemokarasi a le aufaigaluega e itiiti se aafiaga lelei i le faʻatulagaina" i le tele o tausaga talu ai. “O sui auai i iuni a le vaega tumaoti na pa'u i lalo ma e sili atu i le afa i le va o le 1977 ma le 2000, ae o vaega e lua na faʻaalu tutusa taimi i le White House. O tausaga o Reagan na matua leaga lava, ae e leʻi manuia lelei le galue i lalo o le komiti a Carter ma Clinton. (5)

 

That’s why EFCA backers believe unions won’t be able to build on the success of card check and neutrality agreements (negotiated by SEIU, UNITE-HERE, CWA, IBT, UAW, UFCW, and others) without changing the NLRA itself. This confidence is not shared by all academic researchers, however. As Cornell University professor Richard Hurd noted in Fono Fou a Leipa i le tautotogo o le 2008,  "e oo lava i se iloiloga puupuu o le poto masani a Kanata i lalo o tulafono a le itumalo e tutusa ma le EFCA o loʻo faʻaalia ai ... o faʻamoemoega o le laveaʻiina o faʻatasi mai le faʻatulagaina o pulekato e ono faʻamaonia le sili atu le faʻamoemoe."  (6) Hurd cites the work of Canadian labor relations scholar Roy Adams, who points out that “union density and bargaining coverage are falling even in such provinces as Saskatchewan and Quebec that have card check and first-contract arbitration clauses.” Adams predicts that U.S. management—like Canadian firms—will find new ways to resist unionization, even if EFCA is enacted, and that its net impact will be minimal. (7) Other EFCA skeptics point out that “a genuine rights movement relies primarily on the activity of its rank-and-file members…and not on ordinary lobbying or staff-driven campaigns…..[E]very major workers rights statute has been preceded by widespread collective action demanding and exercising workers rights.” (8)

 

E le o fa'agaloina e le au fa'aupuga autu a le EFCA lenei tala'aga fa'asagatau. E ui e le mafai e le "faatulagaina o iuni" se gaioiga faʻaagafesootai mai se mea vaivai, e mafai ona latou taumafai e faʻavae i luga o latou aafiaga tuʻufaʻatasiga o teteʻe, loka-fafo, ma le faʻapotopotoina o sui auai e fai ma sui o manaoga faʻatulagaina. O nisi o tauiviga talu ai nei "fefaasoaai e faatulaga" ua faamanuiaina, i le aluga o taimi, i le siitia o tulaga-ma-faila malamalama e uiga i le taua o le manumalo EFCA-type card check language (faatasi ai ma le solitu o tagata faigaluega) i konekarate fou. (9)  O taumafaiga e toe fuata'i tulafono a tagata faigaluega ua mavae-e pei o le le manuia o le tauofoga i le 1977-78-e sili atu le itiiti ifo o se faʻataʻitaʻiga faʻavae nai lo le taumafaiga o loʻo i ai nei, ae faʻalagolago i le faʻatauvaʻa a le Capitol Hill. O le Carter Administration, i le isi itu, na lagolagoina suiga i le NLRA e pei o le na o le faia o se fiafia mo se vaega faʻapitoa faʻapitoa - tuʻuina atu se quid pro quo mo le lagolago palota talu ai e le ese tele nai lo le folasaga tumau a Congressional Democrats, i tausaga ua mavae, o " nofoaga masani” tulafono pikiaiga. (Ua leva ona vaʻavaʻai i ai o se sop i fefaʻatauaʻiga o fale, o nei pili leaga a le AFL-CIO e leʻi manuia i le tatalaina o tapulaʻa i luga o le aufaigaluega i nofoaga faufale.)

 

I tuuga autu a le Senate i le 2008, o loʻo faʻaalu nei e le aufaipisinisi le $50 miliona i luga o faʻasalalauga e faʻaalia ai le toe fuataʻiina o tulafono o tagata faigaluega e avea o se faʻalavelave mataʻutia o le "Labour Labor", faʻamalosia e foaʻi a le iuni i le Democrats. (10) (E tusa lava po o le a le tele o iuni ua faaitiitia, i le mafaufau o www.unionfacts.com ma fa'apea fo'i fa'apogai o fa'amatalaga sese, o lo'o tulituliloa pea e le tagata leaga o le "Big Labor" le fanua, e pei lava ona faia i le fa'ai'uga o le 1940s ina ua mana'omia Taft-Hartley e fa'alataina!) I le Ianuari, 2008, lomiga o le HR Magazine, sa avea muamua ma loia pulega Rick Berman,  ua avea nei ma faatonu sili o le Center for Union Facts i Uosigitone, DC,  lapataia tagata e ana galuega e faapea, afai e pasia e le EFCA, “e ono faaluaina sui auai o iuni a vaega tumaoti.”  I le tusitusiga lava lea e tasi, na fa'ailoa ai e le faufautua ta'uta'ua o le fa'alavelave iuni o Stephen Cabot le fa'amata'u e uiga i fa'asalaga maualuluga a le tulafono ua tu'uina atu mo le amio le pulea. “I le taimi nei, o le tele o tagata e ana galuega o lo'o auai i ni taumafaiga e tetee atu i fa'aupuga a iuni latou te le mafaia ona fai i lalo o le EFCA,” o le tala lea a Cabot. "Faatasi ai ma le EFCA, o le a taugata tele." Fa'ai'uga a le HR: "Afai e pasia e le EFCA, o le a avea ma tulafono pito sili ona taua mo tagata faigaluega i le sili atu ma le luasefulu tausaga" - e tatau i tagata e ana galuega ona fefefe ma le mautinoa "o le a tatalaina ai le lologa mo le faʻatulagaina." (11)

 

Ina ia faʻalauteleina le lagolago mo le EFCA, o loʻo faʻaalia e iuni, sili atu le saʻo, e taua mo lo latou ola faʻalapotopotoga. Ua faamanatu mai uo a le aufaigaluega e faapea, a aunoa ma le toe fuataiina o le NLRA, o le a atili faavaivaia iuni i le avea ai ma se puipuiga o tulaga o le soifuaga o tagata faigaluega ma se paaga iloga o mafuaaga alualu i luma. Mo se faʻataʻitaʻiga, o le puipuia o penisione o loʻo i ai nei ma faʻamanuiaga faʻafomaʻi-ae leʻo taʻua le puipuia o le Saogalemu Lautele ma le suia o inisiua soifua maloloina faʻavae galuega i se Medicare-For-All system-o le a faʻateleina le faigata, pe a le mafai, e aunoa ma le sili atu o le mamafa o le iuni. O le malepelepe o maketi mokesi a Amerika ma fa'atasi ai ma le fa'aletonu o lo'o maua ai se isi mafua'aga fa'amalosi mo le fa'atonuga a le Konekeresi i luga o le EFCA, talu ai o aia tatau a tagata faigaluega e mafai ona avea ma se vaega fesoasoani o so'o se pusa moni "fa'aosofia le tamaoaiga". E pei ona faʻamatalaina e le tamaoaiga o Dean Baker, mai le Center for Economic and Policy Research, aʻo leʻi tupu le faʻalavelave i Wall Street:

 

“E ui e ono aliali mai le taofiofia o aia tatau a tagata faigaluega e faamaopoopo ai

ia itiiti se sootaga tuusao i le fale malepelepe

bubble o le mafua'aga lea o lenei pa'u, pe a su'esu'e toto'a

e feso'ota'i vavalalata...Afai e mafai e tagata faigaluega ona fa'atuina ni iuni ma

maua a latou vaega o le tuputupu aʻe o gaosiga, e mafai ona toe tuʻu ai le atunuʻu i luga o le ala o le faʻatupulaia o le faʻaaogaina o totogi, nai lo le tuputupu aʻe o loʻo faʻatupuina e le le gafatia.  nono....O le toe fa'afo'isia o se ala fa'atupulaia e fa'atatau i totogi o le a maua ai e tagata faigaluega ma pisinisi le sili atu le mautu nai lo le tamaoaiga o lo'o i ai nei."(12)

 

Ae o finauga tau faiga faavae e pei o Baker's—e matua tele naua le mafuaaga o le Pa'u o le Tamaoaiga  mo le pasiaina o le Tulafono a Wagner i le taimi muamua ma toe faʻamalosia i aso nei-o le a le maua ai se malosi i Uosigitone, DC e aunoa ma le tele o isi galuega "seevae i luga o le eleele" (ma le leo o vae savali). O le mea sili lena o le talitonuga i tua atu o le "Million-Member Mobilization" a le AFL-CIO mo "aiā tatau tau fefaʻatauaʻiga e tatau ona galue mo ma palota mo" i le 2008. Na faia i luga o le uunaiga a le CWA Peresitene Larry Cohen ma isi i luga o le fono a le feterale, le AFL -Na filifili le CIO e maua le sefulu pasene o sui uma o le iuni na sainia i luga o kata faʻamaonia e manaʻomia ai le Konekeresi ma le White House e faia se gaioiga i le EFCA. Ina ia ausia lenei sini folafolaina o le tasi miliona tagata talosaga, o le taumafaiga a le aufaigaluega sa i ai i totonu ma fafo:

 

“O iuni uma a le atunuu, feterale a le setete, fono tutotonu o tagata faigaluega

matagaluega o fefa'ataua'iga, vaega o itumalo, iuni fa'alotoifale ma so'otaga

fa'alāpotopotoga ta'utino atu i le tele o sui auai fa'atasi e uiga i

o le osofa'iga i fefa'ataua'iga tu'ufa'atasi, o le vaeluagalemu, ma a tatou

iuni… E tatau ona tatou aʻoaʻoina, faʻatupuina, ma faʻauluina o tatou tagata i totonu

le fa'agaioiga ina ia pasia le Tulafono Filifilia Saoloto o Tagata Faigaluega.

 

“O vaega uma lava o le aufaigaluega e tautino foi e auai

ma fa'atupuina le tele o aumea, ta'ita'i lotu, ta'ita'i o aia tatau a tagata lautele,

a'oa'oga, mafaufau, ma isi ta'ita'i manatu e tautala mai

e uiga i le taua o le toe faʻafoʻisia o le saʻolotoga e faʻavae ai iuni

fausia se sosaiete amiotonu.” (13)

 

O galuega fa'atulagaina e matua'i tomai i “gaoioiga fa'ata'ita'i” fa'apenei, lea o lo'o fa'ailoa mai ai se va e le ma'alofia i le va o le tautala ma le mea moni ona o le leai o se tulitatao.  I le tulaga o le "miliona sui", o se tasi o mea moni ua maitauina i le taimi nei o le faʻaupuga mama a le tele o iuni tetele e mauaa i le vaega a le malo e le tele se aoga, pe a fai, mai suiga o tulafono a le aufaigaluega tumaoti.  E matua le taua foi le EFCA i ta'iala o lo'o i ai nei mo le toe maua mai o le "sea maketi iuni" i le fausiaina (e ui o nai iuni faufale sa galulue malosi mo ia). E tutusa mo galuega tau pisinisi vaalele lea e aofia i le Tulafono o Leipa, nai lo le NLRA. I totonu o pisinisi, (e le o se vaalele) felauaiga, au'aunaga ma fa'atau oloa fa'atasi ma le tele o sea i totonu o le EFCA, o le mulimulita'iga i a'oa'oga lelei o sui auai ma fa'alapotopotoga fa'alotoifale e eseese lautele.  Mo nisi, o le i ai o se fa'afitauli fa'apitoa e fa'aopoopoina ai se maanuminumi fou i galuega fa'apolokiki i le taimi o le palota a le peresetene.

In March, 2008, a core group of AFL-CIO unions stepped forward to provide initial leadership in the “Million Member” campaign. CWA, the United Auto Workers, the United Steelworkers, and the much smaller International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) formed an alliance based on a professed shared commitment to “unprecedented workplace activity” on behalf of EFCA. All four, with a total membership of two million, had earlier balked at paying a $1 per member special assessment sought by the AFL-CIO to fund its more diffuse GOTV drive. The Alliance was critical of that plan because of its “deficient emphasis on laying the groundwork for enacting EFCA.” (14)  So, as part of labor’s overall $300 million political effort, CWA, USWA, UAW, and IFPTE decided to pool resources to reach and engage 15% of their own members on the job, plus run a coordinated field campaign. Among the states now targeted for worksite leafleting, door-to-door canvassing, and phone-banking by the Alliance are Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Mississippi.

 

E pei ona finauina e Cohen o le CWA i le amataga o lenei tausaga: “O lo tatou lava talafaasolopito, faapea foi ma isi gaioiga o tagata faigaluega i le salafa o le lalolagi, ua aoao mai ai e tatau ona tatou galulue e faia suiga—ae le o le nofonofo ma faamoemoe i ai, pe faafaigaluegaina isi e faia. tupu mo i tatou.” (15) Mulimuli ane, na avea Cohen ma fau alalaupapa i  Change to Win unions as well. He urged them to join Alliance union members in grassroots activity that would inject EFCA into 2008 races and build public support for its passage in 2009, by pushing candidates to talk about workers’ rights, in front of non-labor audiences. (In three presidential or vice-presidential debates so far, neither Obama nor his running-mate, Joe Biden, have mentioned EFCA once. Nor do they bother to make the simple point that Cohen does in his EFCA campaigning, namely that greater unionization would be a “rescue package” for workers, by enabling them to boost their incomes during a recessionary period.)

 

To raise EFCA’s profile, a group of seven unions, acting through American Rights At Work, is spending $5 million on cable TV ads designed to counter big business saturation of the airwaves with anti-EFCA propaganda. (There is also a quite lively op-ed page war going on about EFCA in newspapers all around the country.) With a month to go before the election, CWA is nearing its own goal of signing up 15% of all members on EFCA pledge cards; it has 97, 842 ready to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol in January, at the swearing-in of the new Congress. Around the country, some organizers are trying to put a human face on the EFCA cards they are gathering. They have photographed rank-and-file endorsers of the bill so their pictures can be posted on campaign websites and sent to Washington too—demonstrating to legislators that EFCA is a real worker priority, not just a project of the labor bureaucracy and its paid lobbyists.

 

I le amataga o le 2009, o le Tulafono o le Filifiliga Sa'oloto a le Aufaigaluega o le a feagai ma le tele o tauvaga mo le gauai atu i totonu-le-Beltway, ona o faʻafitauli tau tamaoaiga lea ua faʻaletonu faiga. E tusa lava pe a maeʻa ona fesoasoani le aufaigaluega i le tuʻuina atu o Obama i le White House, e ala i a latou taumafaiga i "setete o le taua," o le a le faʻaleagaina e le peresetene fou se taua e tuʻituʻi i lalo, toso i fafo ma kamupani Amerika i le toe fuataʻiina o tulafono o tagata faigaluega. Afai o tala fa'asolopito lata mai o so'o se ta'iala, e ono fa'aosoosoina o ia e ave se maulu fa'a-Jimmy Carter pe amata fo'i fa'afefete ma lalaga e pei o Bill Clinton e le mafaatusalia.  E na'o le fa'aoso i lalo i luga o le Democrats, i le taimi nei ma le mae'a o Novema 4, e mafai ona fa'amautinoa e tupu lenei fusuaga, ae le'o ta'ua fa'ai'uga lelei mo tagata faigaluega i le nofoaiga muamua a Obama.

 

 

1) O le mea moni, e le o tagata uma e ioe o le EFCA o le a faia lena eseesega tele. Va'ai, mo se fa'ata'ita'iga, i finauga fa'aoso a James Pope, Peter Kellman, ma Ed Bruno, "The Employee Free Choice Act And A Long-Term Strategy For Winning Workers' Rights," WorkingUSA: The Journal of Labor and Society, Vol. 11, Mati, 2008, itulau 125-144.

 

2) Brian DeBose, “Obama Banks on Union’s Support,” The Washington Times,

Mati 3, 2008, itulau e 14.

3) Chris Townsend, "O le Deck's Stacked Against Labor, The UE News, Fepuari,   

      2008, itulau e 15.

 

4) Kim Moody, “Card Check Takes A Hit,” Labour Notes, Tesema, 2007, itulau 4-5.

 

5) Max Fraser, “I tua atu o le Komiti o Leipa,” The Nation, Ian. 21, 2008, itulau 6-8. Mo  a critique of the performance of the NLRB during the Clinton years, see

Steve Early, “How Stands The Union?” The Nation, January 22, 2001 pp. 25-27.

 

6) Richard Hurd, “Neutrality Agreements: Innovative, Controversial, and Leipa's Hope for the Future,” New Labor Forum, Spring, 2008, itulau 35-44.

 

 

7) Va'ai Roy Adams, "The Employee Free Choice Act: A Reality Check," Labour and Employment Relations Association, Proceedings of the 58^th Fonotaga Faaletausaga, 2006.

 

8) Pope, Kellman, ma Bruno i WorkingUSA, Mati, 2008, itulau. 135.

 

 

9)  Vaʻai mo se faʻataʻitaʻiga i le 2005-6 "Hotel Workers Rising" faʻasalalauga lea, e tusa ai ma le UNITE-HERE peresitene Bruce Raynor, na faia ni maliega solitu lea ua faaopoopo ai le 6,000 sui fou i le iuni. (Cited in Hurd above. Mo se tala o le osofaʻiga a le 75,000 CWA ma le IBEW sui e faasaga ia Verizon i le 2000 lea na tupu, i se vaega, ona o se fusuaga umi (ma e leʻi foia lava) i le faʻatulagaina o aia tatau i Verizon Wireless, vaʻai Steve I le amataga, “Verizon Strike Highlights New Union Role,” The Boston Globe, Set. 3, 2000. Itulau E7.

 

10) Kris Maher, "O Fefinauaiga a Leipa e Avea i Ea," The Wall Street Journal.

Iulai 16, 2008, itulau A6.

 

11) Robert J. Grossman, “Suiga Toe Faatulagaina,” HR Magazine, Ianuari, 2008.

 

12) Va'ai Dean Baker, "The Recession and the Freedom to Organize," fa'asalalau Fep. 6, 2008 e le AFL-CIO i le http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/speakout/dean_baker.cfm>

 

13) Mo fa'amatalaga atoa o le AFL-CIO Executive Council's Mati 10, 2008 fa'amatalaga, taga'i: http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/ecouncil/ec030420081.cfm

 

14) Vaʻai Harold Meyerson, "O le Faʻalavelave Faʻalavelave Leipa o loʻo lafoina mea uma i totonu o lana faʻasalalauga mo Obama, The American Prospect (naʻo le lomiga i luga ole laiga), Aokuso 28, 2008 (http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles). The author doesn’t approve of the Alliance. He finds this “political action sub-group” to be further disappointing evidence of the “splintering of a movement whose watchword, supposedly, is solidarity.”

 

15) Va'ai i le “Employee Free Choice Act is within a reach,”  Le CWA News, Ianuari-Fepuari, 2008, itulau 8.

 

(Steve Early sa galue o se faʻalapotopotoga CWA mo le 27 tausaga. O ia o le tusitala o se tusi o loʻo lumanaʻi e taʻua Embedded With Organized Labor: Journalistic Reflections i le Vasega Taua i le Aiga (Monthly Review Press, 2009). O se lomiga umi atu o lenei tusiga, ua faaulutalaina “Labor Law Reform Thirty Years Later: Back To The Future With EFCA?” o le a fa'aalia i lena aoina ma o lo'o fa'asalalauina i totonu Leipa: Suesuega i Vasega Galue Talafaasolopito o Amerika, Volume 5, Numera 4, Novema, 2008. Mo faamatalaga o le saofaga, tagai http://labor.dukejournals.org/ )

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