Labor Day 2006

Another Labor Day, another attempt by the Bush Administration to give businesses an additional tool to keep their workers from getting all uppity and asking for things like better wages and no forced overtime.

The National Labor Relations Board is currently composed of all appointees by President Bush and they are contemplating changing many positions into supervisor positions. Why does this matter? Being categorized as a supervisor makes you ineligible for union membership.

The new definition of supervisor that they are considering would make about 8 million workers unable to remain in their union. You can find an article with more about this possible change here.

The Bush Administration has been hostile to labor unions since the minute they walked in the door of the White House so it isn't much of a surprise that they are trying to give businesses more tools to bust up labor unions. Given the polling out there that shows the public leaning toward giving the Democrats more power in November, it's even less surprising that they want to take action now.

If you don't think it matters whether or not we have labor unions in this country, read the book Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich and then get back to me. The book shows how someone busting their butt with two low-paid jobs in this country still can't make ends meet. Jobs like waitressing, working the floor at Wal-Mart and feeding the elderly at a nursing didn't provide one woman with enough to pay rent and feed herself properly let alone a family of any sort.

This should be a bigger issue for our country than it is today. Every person working full-time and then some should be able to afford a roof over their head and food for their family, but the Bush Administration is trying to drag the country in the opposite direction by giving businesses more tools to keep workers from speaking up for themselves.

How do you think parents feel when they can't spend any time with their children because they work two jobs to try to put a roof over their heads and yet they still can't do it?

Compassionate conservatism must not include dignity for American workers.