(Posted by Steve Smith, California Labor Federation)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is going to hear from both sides in the debate over the Employee Free Choice Act this week, but there couldn’t be a more stark contrast in the messenger.

Corporate executives from around the country are attending a lobbying junket to DC on Wednesday organized by the Chamber of Commerce in hopes of persuading Feinstein to join them in opposing labor law reform.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, workers who have been fired or intimidated simply for trying to join a union will gather to begin a two-day fast Wednesday morning at Feinstein’s office to implore her to stand with them by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.

As the negotiations and wrangling over the bill continue, Feinstein has emerged as a key player. While initially expressing skepticism about the bill (even though she was a co-sponsor of identical legislation in 2007), Feinstein is working with Sen. Harkin and others on seeking a solution that would garner the 60 votes needed for cloture. While political viability is important, the real consideration here must be on how the legislation would help the millions of workers who want a union to better their lives and the lives of their families.

To that end, we must have a bill that would do three things:

Ensure workers have the freedom to join a union, without harassment and intimidation;

Increase penalties on corporations that violate the law by firing or threatening workers;

Provide a timely and fair process for a first contract.

Without meeting those principles, the bill won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on. The next few weeks are critical. With Al Franken expected to be seated soon (knock on wood), the negotiations over the Employee Free Choice Act are headed into overdrive. And that means corporate honchos are going to be leaning heavily on key Senators like Feinstein in a last-ditch effort to derail the bill. And while Washington is a lot bluer than it used to be, make no mistake, corporations still have a stranglehold on power in our nation’s capitol.

CEOs like Lee Scott of Wal-Mart have said they’ll do whatever it takes to prevent the Employee Free Choice Act from passing. They’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a dishonest campaign to defeat the bill. We can’t let them succeed because the fate of this bill is intrinsically tied to the fate of the middle class. While CEOs are fighting to protect their multi-million dollar perks and lavish contracts, workers are fighting for health care, a living wage and safety on the job.

What can you do? Now that we’re in the home stretch of what has been a generation-long struggle for fairness in the workplace, I urge all progressives to take a stand in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. In California, more than 50,000 hand-written letters have already been delivered to Feinstein. Tens of thousands of calls have been made to her offices. Hundreds of impacted workers have visited with her staff across the state. But we must do more to counter the corporate onslaught.

Call Sen. Feinstein and tell her you support the bill. Send a message of support on our Facebook page to the workers who are fasting this week for their rights or, better yet, if you’re in the Bay Area stop by Wednesday or Thursday to show your support.  Let friends and family know that Feinstein needs to hear from them too.

We’ll be out in front of Feinstein’s office Wednesday and Thursday – rain or shine. Hope to see (or hear from) you then.