[URPE] The Economic Policy Institute asks economists to sign a statement supporting the Employee Free Choice Act

[Lane Vanderslice]

The Battle for Worker Organizing Rights is Engaged 
EPI
has long argued that restoring the right to form or join a union would
go a long way toward returning balance to labor markets, where
bargaining power has been heavily weighted toward employers in recent
years. That imbalance has contributed greatly to recent historic
increases in income and wealth disparities between the very rich and
everyone else. 
This month, legislation that would enhance workers' organizing rights
-- known as the Employee Free Choice Act -- was introduced in both
houses of Congress. The law would impose real penalties on employers
who harass or fire union sympathizers, or otherwise try to scare
workers away from a union. If a majority of employees at a workplace
sign cards favoring a union, the act would require an employer to
recognize it, rather than undertaking a long, costly and destructive
battle. The act also would bring in a third-party arbitrator to produce
a fair contract if the two sides can't agree on one within a year. 
EPI prepared a question-and-answer document to explain the Employee Free Choice Act, and has been
instrumental in making the economic argument in its favor. EPI
President Lawrence Mishel, along with Richard  Freeman of Harvard and Frank  Levy of MIT, authored a statement signed by 40 prominent economists,
including three Nobel Prize winners, who agreed that the reform would
be an overall benefit to the economy, and would provide a boost to
workers when they need it most. Now they are inviting other economists to add their voices by signing the same statement. 
Over the years, EPI's staff economists and associated scholars have
conducted extensive research on unions and the economy. A partial list
of significant studies and analysis follow: 
State of Working  America 2008/2009, excerpts from select chapters 
This signature publication by EPI, which has documented the economic
well-being of American workers since 1988, contains a wealth of
information on union benefits for members and non-members, especially for  African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians. 
Still Open for  Business: Unionization Has No Causal Effect on Firm Closures, by John DiNardo, 2009 
DiNardo, a University of Michigan professor and research associate at
the National Bureau of Economic Research, offers overwhelming evidence
that unionization does not cause businesses to fail. 
Squandering the Blue  Collar Advantage, by Josh Bivens, 2009
Bivens shows why unions are not to blame for the loss of U.S.
manufacturing jobs, and that in fact, the real culprits are manipulated
currency rates that make U.S.-made goods overly expensive. A
dysfunctional health care system that burdens responsible employers
with outsized costs, and high executive and managerial salaries, also
contribute to any lack of competitiveness. 
Organizing  Prosperity, by Matt Vidal with David Kusnet, 2009
Using twelve case studies from a variety of industries, including
nursing, meatpacking and janitorial, the authors show how unions can
benefit workers and communities while making companies more productive.
They also illustrate the damage inflicted when union representation is
removed. 
Unions, the Economy,  and Employee Free Choice, by Harley Shaiken,  2007.
Shaiken, a professor at UC Berkeley, found that "The yawning gap
between the robust demand to join unions and the anemic membership
numbers reflects the fact that, for many Americans, joining a union has
become a risk rather than a right." 
Do Workers Still Want  Unions? More Than Ever, by Richard Freeman, 2007.
In this paper, Freeman, a noted labor economist at Harvard University,
writes that an overwhelming majority of workers say in surveys that
that want a stronger collective voice on the job, and believe that the
move would be good for their firm as well.
A New Social Contract:  Restoring Dignity and Balance to the Workplace, by Thomas Kochan and Beth Shulman, 2007
The authors note that at a time of soaring productivity, workers were
not sharing in the profits. "People are working harder and smarter, but
they are not sharing in the gains from their efforts." 
We have recently gathered our resources on unions and the economy to  one page, epi.org/laborpolicy,  and will be adding new research and analysis through the coming weeks and  months. Please check back often. 
________________________________
 
The Mission of EPI
To inform and empower people to seek solutions that will ensure broadly
shared prosperity and opportunity. 
________________________________
 
If you've received this from a friend and would like to subscribe, click here. 
If you wish to unsubscribe yourself from EPI mailings, click here.
Questions? Contact webmaster at epi.org. 
Economic Policy Institute
1333 H Street, NW
Suite 300, East Tower
Washington, D.C. 20005
Copyright © 2009 Economic Policy Institute. All rights reserved.
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/html
Size: 10440 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/pipermail/urpe-announcements/attachments/20090326/dd4da16f/attachment.txt>