By Elizabeth Warren: The Republican Ambush on Worker's Basic Rights
OpEdNews Op Eds 3/8/2015 at 16:37:02
The Republican Ambush on Worker's Basic Rights
By Elizabeth Warren
At every turn, organized labor has been there, fighting on behalf of the American people.
But today, instead of implementing policies that strengthen the middle class, Republicans in Congress are pushing a bill to stop the National Labor Relations Board from modernizing its procedures because it just might help -- yes, I said help -- America's workers.
Coming out of the Great Depression, America's labor unions helped build America's strong middle class. For half a century, as America's union membership went up, America's median family income went up, and that was true for families whether they were part of a union or not.
Since 1935, Congress has required the National Labor Relations Board to oversee the workplace elections in which workers decide whether to be represented by a union. More than 90 percent of the time when there's an election, it all goes smoothly. Employees and employers agree about the process, and an election is held without dispute. Done.
But, in the remaining cases, the rules on how to resolve these concerns have turned into a mess. Over time, a hodgepodge of different rules for resolving these disputes emerged in each of the country's 26 NLRB regions.
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http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Republican-Ambush-on-W-by-Elizabeth-Warren-Employees_Labor-Unions_Republican-Hypocrisy_Rights-150308-436.html