Yes, Governor, worker rights are supposed to be a given

Like all faithful Republican governors, Chris Christie of New Jersey is doing what he can to downplay the importance of workers' rights.

On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, Christie claimed that the right to collective bargaining is not a given.

Per the CBS News website: "Listen, all these rights are legislatively created," he said. "They didn't come down from tablets at the top of a mountain."

No, Governor, they're not in the 10 Commandments.

They are, however, enshrined in Article 23(4) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the U.S. is a signatory (as I noted in a blog post just last week):

"Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests."

Of course, I'm sure that makes no difference to Christie, whose agenda seems focused on gifts for the rich and destruction of any programs that help the non-rich.