(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chairwoman of the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee, today admonished her Republican colleagues for blocking legislation to strengthen protections for workers to freely choose to join a union. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), of which Senator Murray is a co-sponsor, failed to proceed by a vote of 51-48. Sixty votes were needed to move the bill forward
Murray, who spoke on the Senate floor in support of EFCA last week, today released the following statement:
"Today, Republican members of the U.S. Senate let America’s working families down. Instead of standing with our nation’s workers and strengthening their voices, rights and protections, Republicans walked away.
"I am a proud co-sponsor of EFCA because it allows workers to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions by restoring workers’ freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. I believe that workers and their families should absolutely have the right to share in the prosperity they help to create for our nation. I am deeply disappointed that many of my colleagues saw it differently.
"A fair labor market can only exist when employers and employees have a respected voice in the system. Unfortunately, today, this isn’t the case. EFCA would have helped working families to get their fair share of the American dream.
"Our nation’s greatest assets are our people. American workers drive our economy. Their determination for a better future bolsters our nation’s prosperity. Congress recently passed legislation increasing the minimum wage, the first increase in a decade. This Congress is moving in the right direction, and I will continue to fight for working families.
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