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Union supporters push employee power

Alan Rogers

A full house listens to details about the Employee Free Choice Act in Hickory on Tuesday.

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Pro-business forces rally against legislation

By Sarah Newell Williamson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: August 20, 2008

HICKORY - As MaryBe McMillan talked about legislation supporting unions on Tuesday, members of the standing-room-only crowd cheered and waved their "Employee Free Choice Act Now!" posters.

"It's disgraceful that they're opposing worker legislation when we need it most," McMillan said, speaking of elected officials and business owners who met earlier Tuesday in front of the Catawba County Chamber of Commerce at a rally against the Employee Free Choice Act. "The Chamber took a stand against freedom of choice."

McMillian is the secretary-treasurer of the N.C. State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization. She said the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as H.R.800, is so important to her because of all the manufacturing jobs lost in her hometown of Hickory.

"If employees are able to work for better wages, they can have a better job, a better life," she said, adding that the act will ensure that by letting employees form unions.

The act would allow employees to form unions without any pressure from their employer to do otherwise. Rob Black, a spokesman for the N.C. State AFL-CIO, said the fact that business owners who say employees won't be able to vote in secret under the act doesn't hold water.

"The word 'secret' is being thrown out by chamber officials as a red herring, to take away from worker rights," Black said. "There's no great secret here. If 60 cards are signed by employees, you know they're pro-union. There's no secret to it. People who don't want it won't sign the card. If you're on the fence, you don't have to join the union. These companies will stop at nothing to threaten and harass workers. If businesses are worried about how their employees will vote in an election, maybe they shouldn't trample on their freedoms."

Catawba County resident Robin Crafton attended the rally to learn more about the labor laws in the state. She said she became interested in finding out what her rights were last year, after her company was bought out by a larger employer and things changed.

"I found out what my rights as a worker are, and I was shocked. The right to work sounds good, but it doesn't mean squat. I have the right to quit, and that's about it," Crafton said. "Longevity doesn't mean much at businesses anymore. My son got a 27-cent an hour increase, which is about $12 a week. Sure, that's $12 more, but with gas prices and food prices the way they are, there's no way you can keep up."

She said she was "very disappointed" that U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry had sided with big business, showing up at the rally at the Chamber earlier on Tuesday, but not at the AFL-CIO rally later in the day.

Arlen Clark, of MV Transportation, was at the AFL-CIO rally. She spoke about her experience with a fledgling union. Clark began working at the company seven months ago. She said she'd never worked at a company where people were treated so unfairly. However, starting a union turned out to be a great experience for her and her co-workers.

"My first thought was that someone could care about the employees," Clark said. "Now, they're fixing all the vehicles that were dangerous. We were working 12 to 13 hours a day with no breaks, but they're trying to work with us on that now. They're listening to our complaints."

She said not everyone joined the union when it was first created. However, some of the people who didn't first join are considering joining now.

Not all businesses are against unions. Jim Logan, owner of American Income Life in Charlotte, spoke at Tuesday's rally for the Employee Free Choice Act.

"I can't think of one good reason to oppose a union. Collective bargaining agreement benefits a highly trained and productive team," he said. "I can solve problems collectively, rather than dealing with everyone individually. It's never hampered my business or ability to make a profit."