The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has passed historic labor law reform that will make it easier for workers to organize. Jesse Russell reports:

By Jesse Russell

The Employee Free Choice Act passed on a 241-185 vote, but may find itself stonewalled as it enters the Senate. Anti-worker Republicans have vowed to block the bill and President George W. Bush has promised to dust off his little used veto pen if it reaches his desk. Still, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called the bill a success for working Americans citing statistics that show union workers make significantly more then non-union workers:

[Sweeney1]: Government statistics show that working people who have a union today make 30 percent more than workers who do not have a union. And they are far more likely to have health insurance and retirement funds.

He added that if passed the act will help the more than 50 percent of Americans who say they wish to be in a union reverse the trend of anti-labor hostility in the workplace:

[Sweeney2]: One in five employers fire at least one worker during a union organizing campaign. The vast majority of workers make workers endure one on one meetings in which they are fed anti-union rhetoric by their bosses. By the time employees get to vote, the environment has been so poisoned that free and fair choice isn’t a option.