02 February 2009

Labor in limbo

I was thrilled when President Obama nominated labor-friendly Hilda Solis to be his Secretary of Labor. But Senate Republicans aren't so thrilled, so they're stalling the confirmation process.

I'm assuming it's her union-friendly attitude that has them scared. After all, Republicans typically take the side of big business over the worker. Unions empower the workers, but the politicians' big corporate donors prefer to keep the workers "in their place".

Besides, Solis was a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for employees to join or form a union.

Of course, it's already supposed to be easy. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 was designed to protect the rights of workers to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining.

It's also a basic human right. According to Article 23(4) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), "Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests."

Nevertheless, over the past few decades, unions have fallen victim to corporate greed.

Unions protect workers from corporate tyranny.

And that, I suspect, is precisely why the Republicans are so against them.

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