ACTION ALERT
Please contact your representative to support H.R.1588, the Common Sense English Act
Thursday, April 16, 2009
By Frank McGlynn
Acting Executive Director
English First
Congressman Tom Price
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Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) has introduced a bill that deserves our help. It is H.R. 1588, the Common Sense English Act and its purpose is to restore and guarantee that employers can insist that English be spoken in the workplace.
It makes so much sense; it seems ridiculous that there is any debate at all over the right of an employer to insist that America’s common language be used in his or her place of business.
There are safety issues; there are security issues; there are customer relations issues, all of which can be resolved by employers being able to demand that their employees speak English while they are engaged in work.
But before I describe in greater detail what this bill does, let me clarify what it doesn’t do. This bill isn’t a requirement that English be spoken in the work place; it merely ensures that an employer has the freedom to implement English in the workplace policies.
Right now, without H.R.1588, employers who wish to implement such a policy are sued by employees who believe it is their right to speak any language they choose. And the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), that has unilaterally decided that a person’s choice of language is a “civil right,” is now conducting its own witch hunts and routinely brings its own lawsuits against small businesses who are powerless to defend themselves from a federal agency with police powers and armies of attorneys.
H.R.1588 is concerned only with language as it applies to that time when employees are actually engaged in work. Before work, after work, during coffee breaks, lunch time or any other down time, employees are free to speak whatever language they choose.
But when employees are on the job and the employer feels that it is in the best interests of the company that English be spoken by all employees, H.R.1588 would allow such a requirement and protect the employer from any further harassment from the EEOC, anti-English attorneys or radical Hispanic groups.
In the opinion of many experts, a common language in the workplace can prevent injuries and save lives while creating a more harmonious and more productive work environment. In many ways, the multilingual workplace is a perfect model of the problems the entire nation is beginning to experience.
When people don’t speak the same language, they cannot help each other in emergency situations; they cannot shout out a warning or even ask an injured person where it hurts. Employers have to go to the extra costs of producing bilingual signs and instructions on machinery.
In the retail world, customers are often annoyed or find it intimidating when employees are chatting away in another language. And losing any business in these troubled times is about the last thing a small business owner needs.
Does an employer have the right to tell his employees how to dress or how to behave on the job? Of course he does. So why should he not have the right to tell an employee to speak English or to limit his hiring to those who can speak English? It only makes sense which, I imagine, is why Congressman Tom Price named his bill the Common Sense English Act.
But while all of this might seem like common sense to the average American, in Washington, where down is up and nothing makes sense, a bill like this can face stiff opposition. Latino groups like La Raza and MALDEF, are already attacking this bill as racist and anti-immigrant.
President Obama, during his election campaign and throughout the Stimulus debates, claimed he wants to put Americans back to work. Passing H.R.1588 will make it a lot easier for employers to hire English-speaking American workers. It will also make America’s workplaces safer and provide better unity among the employees.
The bill already has attracted 34 cosponsors. Our job, yours and mine, is to double that amount as soon as we can to give this bill the momentum it needs to force hearings from committees that are, most likely, hostile to the bill. And then we can open up the debate.
It won’t be easy, that’s for sure. But with small businesses struggling and millions of Americans out of work, Congressmen who oppose such a common sense bill will be vulnerable to attack as obstructing efforts to get America moving again.
So please let me know that you will help me push through this excellent bill that will help put Americans back to work while, at the same time, notifying the anti-American groups that we will never surrender our language, culture or heritage without a fight.
CLICK HERE TO SEND AN EMAIL TO YOUR REPRESENTAIVE ASKING HIM OR HER TO CO-SPONSOR H.R. 1588
And then, if you can, please send a contribution, in any amount, so that we can continue to be your strong voice in Washington and your watchdog to prevent any further erosion of the language unity that made our great nation what it is.
I know times are tough. They are just as tough for us. But if there were ever a time when America needed a strong, fearless voice in Washington to stand up to those who would change our nation in ways unimaginable a few decades ago, this is that moment.
Help us to continue to be that strong voice by sending your financial support today. You may send your donation online by clicking here. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Frank McGlynn
Acting Executive Director
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