“The Less We Are Organized, The More We Will Be Exploited”

UE Convention Resolution

Organize The Unorganized70th Convention – Pittsburgh, PA

Today, We Face Big Economic Trouble

• Stocks down more than 50%

• 12 million unemployed – most since 1982

• 3 million foreclosures

• Worst economy since great depression

• Nowhere near bottom yet

Most Popular Explanation – Burst Of Mortgage Bubble

Real Problem: Workers’ Incomes Down – Economy Has No “Fuel”

The Roots of Economic Crisis Are More Than 30 Years Deep

Through The 1970s Wages Rose For All Americans

And Productivity Climbed

But When Union Density Began To Decline…

…Living Standards Declined

Productivity Kept Rising…

…But The Wealthy Were The Main Beneficiaries

CEO Pay Ballooned

More Inequality Than Any Time Since Great Depression

• Today the amount of income held by the top 1% is the largest since 1928

Stagnant Wages Not Only Problem

Health Insurance Coverage Dropping

Guaranteed Pension Coverage Declining Dramatically

We’re Running Faster and Faster Just To Stay In The Same Place…

– More Family Members Are Working: The percentage of married women in the workforce jumped from 45% in 1976 to 61% today. Virtually all growth in family income has been from women – men have seen no increase after inflation in their income since the 1970s

– We’re Working More Overtime: In the last decade, manufacturing workers worked 225 hours of overtime annually. In the 1960s, the average worker only worked 164 hours of overtime, despite a far superior economy for U.S. manufacturing

We’ve Also Fallen Behind Other Countries

Because Fewer U.S. Workers Have Union Contracts

We Keep Coming Up Short

And Falling Deeper Into Debt

Growing U.S. Unions Will Restore Fairness & Revive Economy

• Money in the hands of workers is one of the most effective ways to stimulate the economy – unlike the rich, we spend most of what we earn

• Almost 3/4ths of the nations Gross Domestic Product was consumer spending in 2008

• If we can’t buy the products we make, or the services we provide, who will?

Unions Make A Big Difference

• 30% higher wages

• 60% more likely to have employer-provided health insurance

• Over three times more likely to have access to a defined-benefit pension plan

• Four more paid holidays per year

Union Growth Was Part of Recovery From Great Depression

• The Wagner Act was passed in 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression.

• Within a decade of this labor law reform one in three workers were union members.

• Union strength meant workers shared in the nation’s return to economic health.

More Than Half of Workers Would Like To Join A Union Today

More Than Half of Workers Would Like To Join A Union Today

• In 2005, a study estimated 53% of non-union workers wanted to form a union

But Organizing Has Become A Risk, Not A Right

Workers At USCIS In CA And VT Overcame The Risks Last Year

But Many Other Workers Have Had Their Rights Violated

• At ACECO in Wisconsin 500 workers voted to join UE 14 years ago but the company filed a legal challenge. The case is still in court

• At Arc Bridges in Indiana, management has spent $1 million, dragged out bargaining for two years, and fired four out of five members of the union committee to stop 300 workers from having a UE contract

The Employee Free Choice Act Provides Some Answers

• Recognition of the Union When a Majority of Workers Sign Union Cards

• Binding Arbitration if a First Union Contract is Not Reached in Four Months

• New, Stiffer Penalties to Discourage Employers from Violating Workers’ Rights

It’s Our Best Shot At Real Labor Law Reform In A Generation

• The last real chance for reform failed during the Carter Presidency

• President Obama says he will sign the Employee Free Choice Act– “We need to level the playing field for workers

and the unions that represent their interests, because we know you cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement”

• President Obama, January 30, 2009

70+ Countries Have Fair Laws For Union Organizing, Why Don’t We?

Labor Law Reform Not Enough – We Must Organize!

• UE has organized more than 3,000 workers in the past three years• But we must do more to build our union and the labor movement

Freedom To Organize Campaign Calls For Action On Both Fronts

• We’ll fight for a new law to make organizing easier and safer

• We’ll reach out to non-union workers to build union membership

How Can You Help? Tell Congress To Pass EFCA

• Visit, Mail, Phone or Email Your US Senators and Representatives

• Make Your Actions Part of UE Action Week (March 29 – April 4)

How Can You Help?Organize The Unorganized!

• Survey Your Coworkers About Workers and Workplaces That Need Unions

• Bring the Union Message to Non-Union Workplaces During Organize! Week (June 7-13)

• Form or Join a UE Regional Organizing Council (ROC)

Get The Latest News & Info: www.ueunion.org

UE Is A Union Worth Fighting For

Let’s Fight For Worker’s Rights And Revive The U.S. Economy