I worked for A.F.S.C.M.E. for eight years. And being a Corrections Officer for Minnesota offered me a chance to run for and be elected to a position in my union. For eight years I participated in the full range of services offered to Corrections Officers as members of this union. Two of the busiest issues would be negotiations of contracts and Officer discipline. The only reason I was able to retire at 55 , with great benefits , is because of the negotiated agreements my union made with the State of Minnesota.

My job was to advocate for the employees within my union; and I did this with much focus and commitment. I always felt that the state officials overseeing us workers were the "800lb. gorilla" in the room that did not need my help in any way. And I would think that any other workplace in the world would be exactly the same. My opinion is that workers , anywhere in the world , are going to be at the disadvantage and are going to need help to get fair workplace deals and conditions.

The advantage of the employer will be a reality that employees will always have to deal with. The purpose of the union , and if it's doing the job it's suppose to , is to deal with this reality. And the Employee Free Choice Act is an effort to do this. It assists workers in the efforts of organizing , negotiating , and to be able to participate in a strike. It helps the employee to be more consequential to the employer. This effort will help to bring fairness to the relationship between employee and employer in reaching agreements in the workplace.

My job as a union official was to assist union members under any legal and fair method possible. I excepted that part of my job was to be at "the throats" of our administrators in my efforts to serve our working members. And I fully excepted that the administrators that oversaw us were there to "keep us down" as much as possible to make conditions less successful for us and better for them. The American workplace can be a harsh reality.

So the daily relationship between employees and employers is really more like a "battle" we have to fight in the "war" that we are really in. And hopefully with "tools" like the Employee Free Choice Act workers can come to the table and be able to negotiate for workplace agreements that are more fair for everybody.