ERA protects

Letter writer Brian Franz should read the Employee Rights Act (ERA) before he blindly criticizes it as “a gift to corporate America.” (Organized labor, Feb. 13)

In reality, the ERA would provide employees with several on-the-job protections they lack under current labor law. For instance, it would guarantee them the right to a secret ballot election and would allow them to frequently reassess whether their union still serves their interests through federally supervised re-certification elections.

Franz claims unions today are wholly democratic, yet less than 10 percent of union members ever voted for the union currently representing them. Employees are now turning to the ERA for help: The bill’s key provisions are supported by 80 percent of union households. Franz’s baseless attack leaves one question unanswered: If the ERA serves corporate America, then why does the overwhelming majority of the union workforce support it?

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 8:47 PM with the headline "ERA protects."