By GREGORY N. HEIRES

DC 37 activists participated in a national postcard campaign to press for federal legislation that would make it easier for workers to join unions. During the summer, unionists around the country gathered signatures for postcards that urged President Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry to back the Employee Free Choice Act. The proposed law would let workers choose to have union representation by signing cards — a procedure known as “card check.”

The current system requires a National Labor Relations Board election, a cumbersome process that opens the door for employers to use anti-union consultants to torpedo organizing drives. The postcard drive was part of the AFL-CIO’s Voice@Work campaign, a strategic plan to enlist activists in a long-term effort to restore union rights in the U.S. workplace. The campaign’s goal is to reverse the decline of unions, whose ranks have plummeted from 35 percent of the workforce in 1945 to less than 14 percent today.

Barbara Ingram-Edmonds, director of field operations, said hundreds of DC 37 members have attended sessions on the program with AFL-CIO trainers. She credited Marilyn Charles of the Political Action Dept. for spearheading Voice@Work grassroots activities.

Many joined in Voice@Work activities, such as a “National Week of Action” held from June 23 to July 4, when they distributed pro-labor literature in workplaces and communities and gathered signatures for the postcard campaign. The postcards urged the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates to support the Employee Free Choice Act. Mr. Kerry agreed, but President Bush has been silent on the plan. The activists also turned out for the Sept. 1 Labor Day rally sponsored by the New York City Central Labor Council.

About 20 DC 37 elected leaders, rank-and-file activists and staffers attended an intensive four-hour Voice@Work training session sponsored by the New York City Central Labor Council on June 14. The union’s shop stewards program hosted a shorter workshop.

The member mobilization workshops are designed to train participants to educate their coworkers on the ABCs of unionism. “Our goal is develop a core group of activists who will encourage their coworkers to get more involved,” DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts said. Nationwide, activists gathered nearly 175,000 signatures for the card check campaign. New York unionists collected 13,815 cards.

“This program should help us stimulate activism,” said Local 372 Executive Vice President and DC 37 Executive Board member Santos Crespo, who attended the June 14 workshop. “We need to open this up and involve as many members as possible. Voice@Work is for everybody.”

“There are so many exciting things happening today in the labor movement, yet our numbers continue to dwindle,” said Local 2627 2nd Vice President Gary Goff, who also attended the workshop. He said the local plans to incorporate Voice@Work into its shop steward program. “Hopefully, Voice@Work will let us capitalize on this excitement and channel the energy into reversing the decline in union representation.”

Fourth article of a series on organizing and mobilizing.