Hi Friends, The other day, I caught up with UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education Director Kent Wong to ask him a couple questions about the Employee Free Choice Act.  He was super nice and we conducted a quick Q/A over the phone.  I have it all transcribed and ready for your viewing and listening pleasure below.  (Except for my badly mangled photoshop attempt) [audio:http://www.apaforprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kent-wong.mp3] Why are unions important for America? Unions have contributed immensely to the well-being of working people in the United States.  It's unions that won badly needed labor laws that protect workers' rights on the job; that have won the 8-hour day; that have provided for health and safety provisions; that have allowed workers a pension; that have allowed workers vacation and sick pay--these are all things that many of us take for granted, but are actually won by unions.  Unions also give a voice for workers on the job and provide respect and dignity for working people. [audio:http://www.apaforprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kent-wong-1.mp3] How will the Employee Free Choice Act help workers? The Employee Free Choice Act will restore the rights of American workers. Currently, the labor laws in this country do not protect the basic right of workers to form and join unions and what we see with declining union density, not just union members are suffering but workers across the board are suffering. Of all the industrialized nations in the world, the US has the biggest disparity between the rich and the poor and the number of the working poor are growing.  We need the Employee Free Choice Act to restore some balance in the labor laws in this country and to protect the right for workers to form and join Unions. [audio:http://www.apaforprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kent-wong-2.mp3] Why should Asian Americans care about the Employee Free Choice Act? The Employee Free Choice Act is not only a workers' rights issue, it's a civil rights issue.  The vast majority of Asians in this country are working people. If you look at the history of Asian people in this country, we have contributed immensely in virtually every industry and every workplace in this country.  And when workers' rights are protected, Asian American working people and the Asian American community prospers as well. [audio:http://www.apaforprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kent-wong-3.mp3] [caption id="attachment_1759" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="I'm sorry about my poor photoshop skills."][/caption] Groups like the Chamber of Commerce have issued detailed talking points arguing against the enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act.  One of the primary legal arguments brought up by the Chamber of Commerce is that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) already protects workers and that additional protections are unnecessary.  How can we educate ourselves to better understand what's really going on? Walmart, McDonalds, Home Depot, and some of the largest corporations in America are fiercely opposing the Employee Free Choice Act because they want to maintain poverty wages in this country.  They benefit tremendously because their workers do not have a voice on the job and they not only pay poverty wages, but substandard benefits.  In order to restore the American middle class, we need to strengthen protections of workers on the job, including the basic right to form and join Unions.  The US Chamber of Commerce is doing a tremendous disservice to working people in our society by defending a broken labor law system.  They know that the NLRA does not protect workers and they are not interested in having more workers able to defend their rights on the job. [audio:http://www.apaforprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kent-wong-4.mp3] Thank you Director Wong!! We can all help to make this happen.  Seriously, call Congress--tell your Senators and Members of Congress to support the Employee Free Choice Act today. To be continued--

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