WASHINGTON (PAI) - A bill that is probably more symbol than substance will attempt to promote a few union objectives in our nation's anti-union capitol.

Flanked by workers harassed or fired for trying to form unions, labor leaders and key lawmakers reintroduced the Employee Free Choice Act on April 19. The measure, unveiled at a Capitol Hill press conference, would outlaw "captive audience" meetings by employers to berate unions, increase penalties for labor law-breaking and order binding arbitration when unions and management cannot agree on a first contract.

It would also legalize a simpler card-check recognition of unions, said AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney and key lawmakers. That's in contrast to the cumbersome, delay-ridden, pro-business National Labor Relations Board elections process.

The bill, by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) - top Democrats on committees dealing with worker issues - has bipartisan support, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). It's based on a bill written by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.).

The GOP-run Congress is expected to strongly resist it, and Sweeney implied any lawmaker's stand on the legislation will be key to labor's support in coming elections. "I cannot think of any greater barometer to judge an elected leader's commitment to workers' rights than whether or not they will stand with workers on this fundamental human right," he explained.

"America's workers want to form unions. They know unions bring better wages, benefits and a voice on the job. But workers are under attack by employers - like Wal-Mart - that break the rules and intimidate or even fire employees who say they want a union," Sweeney said.

Backers of the legislation again advanced data showing the intimidation, threats and illegal actions workers face when they try to organize - data most of the country does not know, and data that polls show most of the country does not agree with:

• More than 20,000 workers fired in 2004 were illegally fired or discriminated against for union activity.
• One-fourth of private employers fire workers - again illegally - during organizing drives.More than three-fourths of firms require their workers to sit through anti-union "captive audience" meetings, often under threat of discipline or firing of those who refuse or protest.
• "Half of employers threaten to shut down if employees join together to form a union," Sweeney said. The NLRB's GOP majority recently voted that such threats could sometimes be legal.
• Even after the workers vote the union in, one-third of employers "never negotiate a first contract," Sweeney said.

"At a time when the middle class is shrinking, when the gap between rich and poor is growing, workers deserve the right to form unions to win a real voice on the job through collective bargaining," which betters them economically, he added.

"This legislation is about social justice and economic progress," Kennedy declared. "Too often, rights of workers are ignored and abused. Right now, hundreds of politicians are talking about freedom. That's what this is all about."

The pro-union legislation garnered more than 200 co-sponsors in the GOP-run 435-member House, but did not get a hearing. Lead House GOP sponsor Peter King (R-N.Y.) pledged to help get a bipartisan majority. But King did not promise that the bill would move, even with a majority.