SYRACUSE, NY - This afternoon, Congressman Eric Massa announced his co-sponsorship of the Employee Free Choice Act, the most critical labor legislation since Davis-Bacon. Having campaigned for four years in support of American Workers, Congressman Massa today took the bold step of publicly declaring his intention to vote for the Employee Free Choice Act. Rep. Massa's announcement came during a speech to the UAW Region 9's Triennial Convention in Syracuse.
"This critical legislation is not anti-business, it is pro-American, period," said Congressman Massa. "The American Labor movement represents, and in fact is, the only remaining force left to help move our country in a new direction toward fair trade and away from destructive open door free trade. I stand, proudly, with my fellow Americans to support the transformation of the domestic automobile industry into the 21st century and I reject the outrageously false attacks that claim living wages, pension security, access to quality affordable health care, safety and dignity in the workplace, are somehow un-American."
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Addressing the UAW audience, Rep. Massa asked, "How many of you make $74 per hour right now?" The audience's answer was silence. "Opponents of organized labor like Senator Corker and Senator Shelby want to make up false 'facts' and 'statistics' like this to try and break the union, but we won't let that happen. These same critics also say that the Employee Free Choice Act will abrogate the ability of workers to have a secret ballot, but we know this is false. I believe it is now time to level the playing field, overcome employer intimidation, and work with business hand in hand to defend what generations of Americans have put in place - the American Dream."
Well put, Congressman.
