MN-04: House Candidate Spreads Anti-Union Propaganda

Cross-posted from Daily Kos.

In Minnesota, voters are finding a particularly nasty attack flier in their mail from a candidate in the Fourth Congressional District. The mailer bashes Rep. Betty McCollum for her support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

McCollum, a four-term representative, is under attack by Ed Matthews. Like other candidates not offering solutions on issues most important to voters, Matthews is trying to distract voters with smears and disinformation about his opponent. The mailer, repeating the most over-the-top lies of corporate union-busters, paints McCollum as being in cahoots with cartoonish union ogres. (Michael Whitney has a great post with an image of the mailer at Open Left.)

Al Franken, who is running in Minnesota for the U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman, also has been targeted for his support of the Employee Free Choice Act. In fact, WCCO-TV, a Minnesota station, recently ran a "reality check" on an ad that attacked Franken's position. The reporter, Pat Kessler, says the ad's accusations against Franken are a "distortion" and "misrepresents legislation that makes it easier for workers to organize unions." Much of the so-called information in the ad is "false," he says. (Click here to view the report.)

Working families across the nation recognize that passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is necessary to repair current labor laws, which date back to the 1930s. Employees who try to form unions often are intimidated, harassed and even fired. Employers control every part of the process--with the ability to threaten employees and force them to attend mandatory anti-union meetings. The few protections employees have are only sporadically enforced, with weak penalties. Even when employees get past the roadblocks thrown up by current law and form unions, in one-third of those cases, employers won’t negotiate a contract.

The result? Workers cannot exercise their freedom to form unions, and many workers wind up with no leverage to fight for better pay, fair hours and safe working conditions.

McCollum has a strong record of supporting working families. Over her four terms serving the St. Paul area, she's earned a 97 percent lifetime rating from the AFL-CIO. She is a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act because she knows that the freedom to form unions is essential to making the economy work for everyone.