Dear Howard Dean...

You know I admire you, you know I was so happy to be able to finally meet you in person last year. Yet, I'm really unhappy with you that you would send me an email that states this:

Dear Lisa,

American workers need help - and there's something you can do about it.

Regardless of where you live or what you do, labor unions are our first line of defense for worker's rights. What do they fight for? Raising the minimum wage. Improving labor standards. Expanding health care benefits. Protecting retirement security.

And these fights don't only make a difference in the workplace: They are critical to providing economic security for families, strengthening our communities and rebuilding America's middle class. Every day, millions of Americans work hard and play by the rules but are still struggling to get by. Democrats understand the important role that labor unions play to fix this crisis.

Congress is set to debate a bill that will restore American workers' right to freely choose whether or not to form a union. Call on the White House to join the Democratic majority and support the Employee Free Choice Act:

Sure, you gave me a website to visit but it doesn't list any information on spefically on this bill. When searching to read about this bill some of the people that are against it are not against unions...They don't like the fact that this bill would eliminate the eliminate secret ballot elections that ensured workers the ability to express their preferences in secret and without any coercion. I agree we should protect workers that want to be in unions but don't workers deserve the same protection from both sides? I've been involved in what happens when a company tries to go union. The ability to have a secret ballot protects everyone...and it appears from reading H. R. 800 that the secret ballot would no longer exist if I can understand the murky language this bill uses (How about someone writing these bills in English at some point in time?):

`(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, whenever a petition shall have been filed by an employee or group of employees or any individual or labor organization acting in their behalf alleging that a majority of employees in a unit appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining wish to be represented by an individual or labor organization for such purposes, the Board shall investigate the petition. If the Board finds that a majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in the petition as their bargaining representative and that no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit, the Board shall not direct an election but shall certify the individual or labor organization as the representative described in subsection (a).

So please Howard, next time you email me asking me to support a bill could you at least send me a link to the bill so that I have the ability to make an informed decision, or as informed of an decision one can make trying to muddle thru congressional legislation...Thanks Howard...I hope you have a nice day.

:-)