Welcome to the American Rights at Work Action Center!  Here you'll find alerts on urgent issues and pending legislation where your action can make a difference.

Send President Bush His Labor Day "Performance Review"

During his six year tenure, President Bush has repeatedly failed workers. As Labor Day approaches, be a good manager and tell President Bush what you think of his job performance. Remember, you pay his salary. 

Come Labor Day, Bush will have his feet up at his Crawford ranch.  Meanwhile America's workers face unprecedented anxiety about their jobs, wages, health, and pensions. By sending your "Performance Review," you remind Bush that the nation is paying attention to his every move.

>> Send President Bush his "Performance Review" for Labor Day!

Ask Congress to Give Workers RESPECT

Last year, the National Labor Relations Board decided to reclassify employees with limited supervisory duties as 'supervisors,' stripping millions of workers of their right to form a union.  The very agency that is supposed to protect a worker's basic right to form a union has once again taken away those rights.

Only Congress has the power to restore those rights.  Please write to your Members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the RESPECT Act (H.R. 1644 and S. 969) and give workers the respect they deserve.

>> Ask Congress to Give Workers RESPECT

Tell Verizon to Honor its Employees' Union

A majority of Verizon Business technicians in the Northeast chose to form a union through the “majority sign-up” process.  But Verizon is ignoring its employees’ decision to form a union.

Please send a letter to President of Verizon Business John Killian letting him know you support the workers and believe they should have a real voice at work. 

>> Ask Verizon to recognize the workers’ union!

Urge your Senator to Support the Employee Free Choice Act

Momentum is building for the Employee Free Choice Act - federal legislation that would ensure workers have a free choice and a fair chance to form a union. Now that the bill is moving on to the Senate, we have an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen workers’ rights.  Tell your Senator to co-sponsor the Employee Free Choice Act today!

>>Take action now!

Help Raise the Minimum Wage

The prices of our everyday necessities like gas, electricity, housing, and food have all been on the rise—but the federal minimum wage hasn’t.  It’s been stuck at $5.15 an hour for the last 10 years!  Hard working Americans deserve better!  Please help give these workers a much needed boost immediately.  Tell Congress to raise the minimum wage with no strings attached. 

>>Act Now!

Tell Smithfield: Do Right By Your Workers 

Grisly conditions, crippling injuries, poverty wages—this is what workers face every day at the Smithfield pork processing plant in Tar Heel, NC.  As workers try to stand up to Smithfield and organize a union to fight for basic rights on the job, they are met with brutal force, harassment, and strenuous resistance.  Tell Smithfield to clean up its act. 

>>Take action now. 

Tell Hershey's to Ask Blue Diamond to Quit its Tricks

Blue Diamond runs the world’s largest almond processing plant—and has also produced a self-described “aggressive union-avoidance campaign” against its workers.  This Halloween, ask Hershey's—one of Blue Diamond’s biggest customers and suppliers of Halloween treats—to ask the company to quit its tricks and pledge to not interfere with its employees' union organizing efforts!

>>Write to Hershey's now!

Tell President Bush: Protect Workers, not Business Interests

The Bush-appointed National Labor Relations Board recently issued decisions in the "Kentucky River" cases that could strip an estimated eight million workers of their rights to form and join unions.  The very agency that is supposed to protect a worker's basic right to form a union has once again moved to protect the interests of big business.

>>Tell President Bush what you think about this latest attack on workers' rights.  

Stop the Silent Assault on Workers' Rights

The Bush-appointed National Labor Relations Board is poised to issue decisions in three cases that could strip millions of workers of their right to have a union at work—all without holding public hearings.  These workers should get a chance to speak about a decision that directly impacts their lives and their freedoms.  Give these workers a voice: ask Congress to demand the NLRB hold hearings on these important cases.

>>Act Now!

Verizon Wireless' Anti-Union Network

Verizon Wireless, one of the nation’s most popular wireless providers, is also gaining a reputation as one of the most anti-union.  The company has aggressively fought efforts by its employees to form unions to improve their workplace.

Call out Verizon Wireless on its behavior.  Urge the company to let their workers have a free and fair chance to form a union.

>>Act Now!

Raising the Bar

Cingular Wireless takes a different stand on workers’ rights – unlike its competitors or other major corporations, Cingular does not interfere with the rights of its employees to choose whether or not they want to form a union. 

Thank Cingular for raising the bar for workers’ rights.

>>Act Now!

Tell Blue Diamond to Have a Heart
Roses are Red, Workers are Blue…

Blue Diamond Growers operates the world’s largest almond process plant and has run – in its own words – “an aggressive union avoidance campaign.”  Already three employees have been fired for supporting the union – Blue Diamond workers deserve better! 

Ask Blue Diamond to have a heart and stop cracking down on union supporters!

>>Act now!

Garth Brooks in "Friends with Low Wages"
According to country star Garth Brooks, “it’s great to work for Wal-Mart.” In fact, he’s so proud of Wal-Mart that he’s been all over television promoting their holiday sales. But if he found out how Wal-Mart really treats its workers, he’d discover he’s got “Friends with Low Wages.”

Check out our new flash cartoon; then tell Wal-Mart to clean up its act and end its unionbusting ways.

>>Act now!

The Employee Free Choice Act will help fix the broken process through which workers form unions.  If Congress passes the Employee Free Choice Act, stronger enforcements will be in place to deter violations of labor law. 

Watch the short movie and then urge your Members of Congress to support the bill.

>>Act now!

Ask Garth Brooks to Give Wal-Mart the Boot!
"It’s great to work for Wal-Mart."

Or so says one of Wal-Mart’s newest ‘employees,’ country music superstar Garth Brooks.  Wal-Mart just announced that Garth’s music will soon be available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores.

Tell Garth Brooks the truth about Wal-Mart’s unfair treatment of its workers and ask him to reconsider the deal.

>>Act now!

Tell Wal-Mart Enough is Enough
One after another the scandals emerge revealing Wal-Mart's ruthless campaign against workers' rights.

When Wal-Mart employees attempt to stand up for themselves and try to form a union, they face threats, propaganda, discrimination, intimidation, and even firings. It's wrong, and it's got to stop now.

Sign a petition to Wal-Mart demanding the retail giant stop its anti-union campaign against its 1.3 million employees.

>>Act now!

Tell Columbia University to Play Fair
A just-leaked memo reveals Columbia University Provost Alan Brinkley recommended unionbusting strategies to prevent graduate teaching and research assistants from striking, showing just how far one of the nation’s leading academic institutions will go to deny its workers a fair chance to form a union.

So, let’s write our own memo to Columbia:  Tell the University to stop its unionbusting campaign and respect workers’ rights!

Stop Offshoring
Good American jobs are being shipped overseas at record rates, and white-collar workers have become the new victims of outsourcing.  Unregulated offshoring allows companies to transfer work to countries where they can pay workers a low wage and where weak labor laws often go unenforced.

Just ask Myra Bronstein, a 14-year veteran of the tech industry, who not 
only lost her job last year as it was offshored halfway around the globe, but suffered through having to train her replacement. 

Act now to urge your Members of Congress to support the Workers Protection Act, a bill to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from being used to outsource jobs to other countries.

>>Act now!

   Tell-A-Friend...now!  Help us expand our network 
& strengthen the rights of workers! 

Please tell your friends, family and co-workers about the
American Rights at Work Action Alerts.  

*According to 1993-2003 NLRB Annual Reports, an average of 22,633 workers per year received backpay from their employer.  The NLRB orders employers to award backpay to workers they illegally fired, demoted, laid off, suspended without pay, or denied work as a result of their union activity.