In these economic hard times, it is more important than ever that workers have the freedom to organize and choose their representatives.

That was the original intention of the National Labor Relations Act, which Congress adopted in 1935, although a series of amendments and policy changes have made it easier for employers to intervene in the unionization process. That is why Wisconsin U.S. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl have co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Employee Free Choice Act has three major provisions, each of which further the NLRA's mandate to encourage collective bargaining and protect workers' rights to "freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing."

The most controversial allows the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union after a majority of workers sign "valid authorizations" indicating their desire to be represented by that union.

This has been an accepted method of forming unions since 1935, but the current law allows employers to override those authorizations by demanding that the NLRB conduct an election.

Under the proposed law, workers could still petition for an election and the NLRB would still ensure that authorizations were not coerced. But employers would lose the ability to determine how workers' expressed their opinion.

The remaining sections of the law allow either side to request mediation in protracted labor disputes and increase penalties for employers who violate workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively.

Those measures are necessary because the election process has been undermined to the point of being ineffective.

Recent studies show that 75 percent of employers hire consultants to conduct anti-union campaigns during NLRB elections and that over 90 percent require workers to attend meetings where they are warned that negative consequences would result from unionization.

While technically legal, such actions violate the spirit of the NLRA. More direct violations of the law include firing union supporters (25 percent of elections) and refusing to sign a contract after workers have chosen a union (44 percent of elections).

Given the lengths to which employers go to prevent unionization, it is no wonder that only 12 percent of workers currently belong to unions while nearly 60 percent report that they would join one if given the chance.

Particularly during a recession, society has an interest in ensuring that workers can bargain collectively for better wages, benefits and working conditions.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that union members earn 28 percent more than non-union workers, in addition to gaining far greater benefits, safety, and protection from unfair treatment on the job.

The benefits of unionization extend far beyond union members and their families, as non-union employers tend to raise wages to avoid unionization. Historically, unions have played critical roles in supporting social reforms that benefit all workers, such as pensions, workplace safety, overtime pay and health care.

By allowing workers to express their interests collectively, unions counteract the hyper-competitive impulse to take several jobs and work longer hours at lower pay; which is why Congress viewed the National Labor Relations Act as a critical part of its plan to stabilize the economy during the Great Depression.

Our senators should be applauded for defending the democratic principles of that law as we face the current economic crisis.

Jones is an associate professor of history at UW-Madison.