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At the NLRB, It’s Time to Close the Henhouse and Fire the Fox |
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When you have corporate-friendly National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) members in charge of protecting workers’ rights, it certainly is akin to the old tale of the fox guarding the henhouse.
In Nashville, Tenn., a very evil-looking six-foot-tall fox took on the role of the NLRB as dozens of union members marched yesterday in front of the regional NLRB offices to protest the board’s long line of anti-worker decisions since President Bush took control of the board.
The Nashville action was one of more than 20 held around the nation as thousands of union members said it is time for the labor board to be “closed for renovations” until a pro-worker board is appointed.
Along with the thousand-strong march and rally in Washington, D.C., other events were held in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Mich., Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Portland, Ore., St. Louis and Tampa, Fla. In Albuquerque, N.M., union members were joined by community and religious activists and city and state lawmakers in a rally outside the federal building, drawing cheers and honks of support from pedestrians and drivers passing by.
Meanwhile, NLRB chairman Robert Battista—who is supposed to be unbiased and neutral when it comes to workers, unions and labor law—issued a statement calling the protest “shrill.” Guess we know what he thinks of workers airing legitimate complaints.
Loud maybe. But shrill? No, just angry. Who wouldn’t be? Take a look at several NLRB rulings from some of those decisions:
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Make it harder for workers to form unions but easier to get rid of existing unions.
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Make it easier for employers to escape liability for breaking the law and weaken already ineffective remedies.
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Make it easier for employers to discriminate against union supporters and replace strikers.
Don’t forget the Bush NLRB already has taken away the right of some 8 million workers such as nurses, building and construction trades workers, journalists and others to form unions by expanding the definition of “supervisor.”
That’s enough to make you yell. We did.
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2 Comments
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Sisters and brothers you are missing the point here, this guy was told when he got the job that unions are dead and it was his job to make the arrangements. Now we have the gaul to say we’re not dead yet. Sheesh what kind of brass do we have? The meida saya we’re toast, Right to Work says it, the GOP, and chamber of commerce say, why wont we just lay down and die? Could be that too many folk have run over by the corprate economy express and want to put the brakes on?
Amen! Thanks for being “our” voice!
God Bless!