Union members from around the Twin Ports gathered in Superior Monday to promote a bill that would make it easier for employees to organize unions. Rich Kremer reports.

Pro-labor activists and union officials gathered at Superior’s Public Library to rally behind a bill called the Employee Free Choice Act. AFL-CIO Organizer Chad McKenna says the current system for organizing a union is broken.

“It’s extremely employer dominated. Through how people form a union to what the law says employers can say and do about unions to the process of bargaining a contract.”

McKenna says current labor law lets employers decide how organization will take place. He says the Free Choice Act will give this power back to employees.

“Either through majority sign-up or an election process, which process to use is up to the worker not up to the employer.”

McKenna says the Employee Free Choice Act would also provide stiff fines to employers found intimidating or firing employees trying to organize and require arbitration when organizers and employers can’t make a deal.

“With the Employee Free Choice Act it will make it easier for people to organize and naturally I think people will organize to a large degree and we’ll see a rebounding of the middle class that I think we need.”

McKenna is hopeful that the bill will make it into this legislative session and says there is more congressional support for it now than ever.

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