Congressional Quake Offers Hope To Unions
Organized Labor, shut down since the Republican revolution of 1994, is making noise again. This time, they have a receptive audience in presumed House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. George Miller, expected to be chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, expected to lead the Senate Labor Committee. All of these legislators want to raise the minimum wage, extend help to students, and lower drug costs. The minimum wage issue is expected to be job one for both labor and Democrats.
Other important matters to be addressed will be slowing down outsourcing, improving the safety of mines, making it more difficult for companies to eliminate pension obligations through bankruptcy, and extending health coverage to workers.
Anna Burger, chairwoman of the labor coalition Change to Win said, “More and more workers are losing their health coverage. We need a way to stop that once and for all. One way to do that is extend the health insurance program that covers everyone in Congress. If it’s good enough for them, why isn’t it good enough for every American?”
Senate Republicans are expected to use the filibuster in order to block a bill that would increase penalties for businesses that fire workers in order to counteract unionization attempts. Labor believes that this bill is crucial for ending labor’s decay.
