August 12, 2009
VMFP Joins Union Veterans Council, Strongly Supports EFCA
Recognizing the synergy between fighting for one’s country and preserving fair and equitable workers’ rights, VMFP has joined the newly formed AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council to take up the mantle of the Employee Free Choice Act and represent working families – most who have veteran connections.
“Workers and their families, especially veterans, who have risked their lives to protect our freedom have earned the right to negotiate with corporations for better wages and increased benefits", said Matt Cary, President of Veterans and Military Families for Progress."VMFP is proud to join the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council and the other Veterans Groups in securing the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act".
Founded in 2008, the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council will focus its efforts on job opportunities and healthcare for those in the workforce who have served in the military. Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act is an important component of the organization’s mission.
“Veterans across the country are speaking up because they know like all working families that when the system is so skewed towards corporations, no one gets a fair shake,” said Mark Ayers, Chair of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council. “The Employee Free Choice Act gives all workers the freedom to bargain with corporations for better benefits and wages. In this economy, that’s all anyone can ask for.”
One of the elite veterans’ advocacy organizations to join the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council, VMFP sees aligning itself with the Council as a way to fulfill its mission of ensuring that the rights and needs of veterans, active-duty service members and their families are:
- understood by the American public,
- endorsed by our elected officials, and
- protected by legislation, regulation, and public policy initiatives.
Veterans and Military Families for Progress is a 501(c)(4) non-partisan, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a 21st Century organization made up of individuals from across the country, and from across the breadth of rank and military services, who served, are serving, or are members of families of those who have heeded the call to serve their country in the U.S. military.
