Grand Rapids area Representative Vern Ehlers has been declared a "public enemy of the middle class" by the group Americans United for Change. Ehlers--joined by seventeen other members of the 110th session of the United States House of Representatives--was named to the list for his "full frontal, unapologetic assault on the middle class agenda" in Congress. Specifically, the group highlighted Ehlers' votes against the Fair Minimum Wage Act that would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over two years and the Employee Free Choice Act would "level the playing field" for workers by fixing the "broken" system for forming unions and bargaining with employers. Lansing area Congressman Mike Rogers was also on the list.
Americans United for Change argued that these two measures would provide critical support to the middle class. The Fair Minimum Wage Act would increase the minimum wage after more than a decade at the current rate and would reflect broad public support (83% support an increase). Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage is at its lowest rate in fifty years and a family of three making minimum wage makes only $10,700 per year or $4,367 under the poverty line. Similarly, the Employee Free Choice Act would reform a system for determining union representation that favors the rights of employers and would address widespread abuses towards workers attempting to form unions. The act would strengthen penalties for companies that illegally coerce or intimidate employees to prevent them from forming a union, use neutral third parties to negotiate contracts for new unions if a contract has not been agreed to after three months, and would establish a "majority sign up" requiring employers to recognize a union if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards that are validated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). An increase in union representation would like increase the wages and benefits received by workers, as unionized workers earn 30% more than non-unionized workers while unionized workers are 62% more likely to have employer-provided health coverage and are four times more likely to have pensions than non-unionized workers.
