Republicans accuse Obama of intending to keep his campaign promises

Can Labor make gains during Obama's presidency?

The Republicans are acting shocked and Accusing President Elect Obama of intending to keep his promises and pass pro labor laws and return the NLRB to the National Labor Relations Board and to stop allowing the department to be a tool to deny worker rights. Those on the right are acting as if "everyone knew" that promises made to organized labor could be safely ignored after the election. The sickening thing is that I truly believe that they thought Obama and they were on the same page about forgetting promises to the public.

Labor has been under attack by successive Republican presidents and congresses for decades. Anti-Union Pundits cite the lowered Union membership as proof that America does not want Unions while the right has put up more and more barriers to forming Unions.

This could be the largest change for labor since Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933 during the great depression.

Under successive conservative administrations during the last thirty years, union enrollment continued to drop. President Ronald Reagan's anti-union bias was shown when he disregarded public safety and fired air traffic controllers during a strike.

Can labor make a comeback?

Union members voted in such large numbers for Barack Obama and provided larger majorities in both the house and the Senate that they may feel rightfully that the administration owes them some support.

The first bill on the agenda will even the playing field for employees seeking to form a Union, the Employee Free Choice Act will make it easier for employees to form Unions while avoiding harrassment and illegal firings.

No longer will only Unions face fines for their campaign tactics, employers will face substantial penalties for firing or harassing workers for wanting a Union to represent them.

The economy is a wreck because workers need d higher wages to afford increase food, fuel, and living expenses. Henry Ford made sure his employees could buy a Ford, a lesson lost in the greed and selfishness of the rush to deregulate.

Bureau of Labor Statistics reports show the number of workers belonging Unions in 2007 at 12.1 percent, nearly a forty percent drop since 1983.

During thirty years the only time "Republicans have been the the party of smaller government is when they have deregulated protections for workers or small investors. If more regulations could choke labor they are all for new laws.

Now, as in the Great Depression the central problem is the lack of consumer spending.

The mortgage crisis was not completely the fault of a bubble. People got mortgages on the premise that in the future they could make more money, and be better able to pay their mortgage.But that never happened, unlike any other time in US history when profits rose incomes didn't ncrease. When adjusted for inflation incomes actually fell.

When Roosevelt was elected he introduced labor friendly laws, allowing workers to negotiate for better wages and job security. When wages rose, the US entered the longest period of prosperity in our countries history.

Unions this year led what may have been the most active and organized campaign ever seen. Unions don’t want payback.

It is not payback if our new President and Democratic majority pass labor friendly laws, they will only be keeping the promises made to and supported by a majority of the electorate.

It will be a refreshing change if Washington starts keeping promises to the people rather than the richest one percent.

Enter your Email





Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz