The results of a recent Gallup survey demonstrate strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act – proposed new federal legislation that would put the power to choose union representation back where it belongs – in workers’ hands.

Fifty-three percent of respondents were in favor of making it easier for workers to organize for a better life by offering them the option of “majority sign-up” while preserving the choice of secret-ballot elections.

In addition, the Employee Free Choice Act would strengthen penalties against companies that illegally coerce or intimidate employees in an effort to prevent them from forming a union – a much-too-common practice.

Middle-class wages, adjusted for inflation, have been stagnant for the past 30 years, while the salaries of those at the top of corporations have expanded disproportionately.

The middle class, the true engine of the nation’s economy, is disappearing. What better time to revive the role of unions, as workers in unions earn approximately 30 percent more, and are more likely to have pensions and other benefits. Women are especially hard hit by the absence of unions, as they earn less than males in the same jobs, and are more likely to hold low-wage, part-time and temporary jobs.

The Employee Free Choice Act has strong support in Congress, as well as from hundreds of respected religious, academic and business leaders.

It’s time our economy worked for everyone again.

It’s time to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

Mary Ann Larson, New Gloucester