The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is running an op-ed today making the persuasive case that workers should have just as much right as Senator Arlen Specter when it comes to choosing their affiliations. William George and Jack Shea, two Pennsylvania labor leaders, write:

Last week we witnessed an amazing example of American democracy in action. Simply by exercising his freedom of association, Sen. Arlen Specter changed his political party affiliation and joined the Democratic Party. Mr. Specter took advantage of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. And, in a classic moment of pure irony, in the same speech announcing his decision to switch parties, he reiterated his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Employee Free Choice Act guarantees workers the right to join a union simply by indicating that they want to be part of one, the same way Mr. Specter joined the Democratic Party. This is America. It should not take a new law to guarantee workers the right to freely associate in a labor union, but too often workers are denied the basic rights most Americans take for granted.

…

Mr. Specter has demonstrated time and time again he is capable of bold action. When he withdrew his support from the Employee Free Choice Act in March, he left the door open to supporting labor law reform. We invite him to boldly walk back through that door and join like-minded senators in his new political party and take part in fixing America’s broken labor laws.

This is a powerful argument and one that I expect workers in Pennsylvania to continue to use to move Specter back to supporting the Employee Free Choice Act (a bill he’s previously voted in favor of).