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Hawaii Legislature Passes Employee Free Choice Measure

by James Parks

With passage of the federal Employee Free Choice Act a major issue for working people in the 2008 elections, lawmakers in Hawaii last week passed their own version of the bill. Union members were key to passage of H.B. 2974, which levels the playing field for workers considering a union. The legislation, which applies only to agricultural workers in the state, passed in both chambers by veto-proof margins with Republicans casting all the “No” votes. 

If the bill become law, employees could join a union by signing a card saying they were in favor of the union. If a majority of the employees sign up, the union would be authorized to bargain with management.

The bill now goes to Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, who opposed the measure. Should she veto the bill, Democrats hold far more than the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. 

Hawaii State AFL-CIO President Randy Perreira told a state Senate committee that under current law, an employer does not have to recognize workers’ desire to collect signature cards of everyone who wants a union.

An employer can insist on a secret ballot election…in a high number of cases, the employer uses the time before the vote to pressure employees not to join the union.

The union movement has launched a nationwide drive to get at least 1 million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Four hundred members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) already have signed postcards to tell the next president and Congress that working families across America want them to immediately enact the legislation.

The cards will be presented to the new Congress after the November elections in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. (You can show your support for the Employee Free Choice Act by clicking here to sign our online card.)

AFL CIO:

The AFL-CIO is a voluntary federation of 55 national and international labor unions and represents workers from all walks of life. Together, we seek to improve the lives of working families to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation.

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