Union Organizing

Re “Union Activists Have Their Work Cut Out for Them,” Oct. 11: It’s not about the employer. Too many employers take the issue of union organizing personally. An employer who runs a good business that welcomes worker input has no reason to fear its employees’ desire to unionize.

It’s about free choice. When employers let workers decide freely, they usually choose to unionize. When employers fight tooth and nail, intimidating their work force in the process, workers weigh possible job loss and more often choose not to unionize.

The National Labor Relations Act gives employers tremendous power in a decision that should be the employees’ alone. An employee who is fired trying to organize may win his/her job back after years of litigation but will only receive back wages, minus any wages earned in the meantime. There are no other fines. The union organizing drive is often lost or held up while the case is being decided. Until the law is changed, every single union organizing drive will be an uphill battle and require tremendous courage and determination to win.

MARY ANNE HOHENSTEIN

SEIU Local 1877

Los Angeles