A Long-Overdue Chance for Working People to Catch Up

If Congress intends to rescue all Americans – and not just the banks, hedge funds and insurance companies that got us into this economic crisis – it needs to move quickly to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Much of the pain on Main Street stems directly from three decades of wage stagnation and decline, not just the reckless abandon of Wall Street. In our report "Income and Inequality," the Americans for Democratic Action shows how over the last decade the wages of 80 percent of American workers fell behind both inflation and the productivity gains their work won for corporate employers. That means millions of workers had to borrow not for luxuries but just to cover the costs of mortgages, education and health care. Meanwhile, the financial gains from their increased productivity were flowing straight to managers and shareholders. Passing the Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for millions of people to join unions and collectively bargain for a fairer share of the profits created by their work.