The so-called Employee Free Choice Act will do nothing to benefit middle-class American workers. [“Free Choice Will Rebuild The Middle Class,” April 5] Under the terms of the act, workers will have no say in how to rebuild or determine their future.

In the column, Will Fessenden cites a study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research that claims illegal firings occurred in one-fourth of all union representation elections. This could not be further from the truth. A Center for Union Facts’ analysis of National Labor Relations Board data found that less than four percent of union organization campaigns resulted in an unlawful termination.

The fact is, the Employee Free Choice Act eviscerates democracy in the workplace. The workers Fessenden claims to defend would effectively lose their right to a secret ballot and under binding arbitration provisions in the legislation, they would also lose their vote to ratify contracts. If both parties cannot agree to terms for first contract upon unionization, workers will be forced to accept terms dictated by a federal bureaucrat and could actually lose current benefits as a tradeoff for others.  

J. Justin Wilson, Washington, D.C.

Managing Director, Center for Union Facts

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