Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa promised UAW delegates Tuesday that they can count on him to help make the Employee Free Choice Act law.

The Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, made remarks to convention delegates via satellite from Washington.

“Right now, there are a lot of naysayers here in D.C. who are counting out the Employee Free Choice Act. I’ve got a simple message for those people: We are going to keep fighting for EFCA – for as long as it takes. And we are going to prevail,” Harkin said.

Sen. Tom Harkin says people should not have to 'crawl across broken glass' to join a union. Photo by Rebecca Cook.

Harkin acknowledged that working families are up against hostile political and business forces. “The harsh reality is that Republican administrations going back to Reagan have gutted the right to organize in America. Employers hire anti-union consultants – white-collar goons. And they strangle fledgling unions in the cradle.”

“I’ve got a question: Why should working people have to crawl across broken glass and go through a kind of boot-camp hell in order to join a perfectly legal organization? The answer is they shouldn’t. And that’s why we need the Employee Free Choice Act,” Harkin said.

“I think Sen. Harkin is right on point,” said Richie Teague of UAW 450 in Des Moines, Iowa. He has always been right there with us. I believe he will do everything he can to make sure that EFCA passes.”

Harkin told delegates he has “always respected the UAW – going back to its beginnings in the 1930s.” He described the union as a “two-fisted, never give up, fighting union.”

“Walter Reuther survived brutal beatings and two assassination attempts, and he never gave up organizing the auto industry,” said Harkin. “He and the UAW prevailed. And it has been the same thing with the UAW and the auto industry over the last couple years. Some folks were willing to shut down GM and Chrysler and break the backbone of American manufacturing. But you folks refused to give up,” said Harkin.

“Sen. Harkin has helped us with a lot of issues and was a big supporter of the Cash for Clunkers program, too,” said Teague. “The work he is doing for labor and working families will not only help the UAW and Iowans, but it will also help everyone in the United States.”

Sandra Davis