A Labor Secretary Who is Actually Pro-Union
- From: freeisbest <demeter547opine@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:38:14 -0800 (PST)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonah-lalas/a-labor-secretary-who-is_b_162365.html
Jonah Lalas
Posted January 30, 2009 | 11:41 AM (EST)
A Labor Secretary Who is Actually Pro-Union
The Obama administration has a real opportunity right now to improve
labor standards in this country, but it begins with appointing a pro-
active secretary of labor who truly supports the ability of workers to
collectively bargain. Bush's former appointee Elaine Chao not only
presided over what has been one of the worst periods in our history in
terms of unemployment, job growth, and wages; she also does not favor
expanding workers rights. Therefore the Senate needs to stop holding
up the confirmation of Congresswoman Hilda Solis for secretary of
labor.
I knew that Solis had a strong record with supporting labor unions,
but it became even clearer to me last week when I had lunch with a
close friend of mine who used to work for the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU). He was involved in a campaign a few years
ago to organize the 14,000 employees who work for the large healthcare
corporation Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) in California. The workers
at CHW were paid less than workers with similar occupations at nearby
hospitals. Moreover, they had to pay hundreds of dollars every month
for healthcare benefits while employees at other hospital chains in
the state like Kaiser Permanente received theirs for free.
As with most organizing campaigns, once the employer begins to realize
his/her employees are willing to stand up for better pay, more
affordable healthcare, and better working conditions by forming a
union, they begin to fight aggressively. For instance, they often
retaliate against vocal union supporters and hold mandatory "captive
audience" meetings where they blatantly misinform employees and create
an atmosphere of fear. They know that keeping the facility "union-
free" will allow them to keep wages stagnant, raise healthcare costs
on his/her employees, and keep more of the profits funneled towards
those in executive positions. Meanwhile, employees are prevented from
passing out union literature and union organizers are denied access to
public areas like the cafeteria.
During this tense time, politicians are often hesitant to get
involved, probably because of how their actions would look to the
business community. This was not the case with Solis. My friend
described to me that during the heat of the campaign, Solis would go
into the hospital to confront the management and openly express her
support for the workers. She also joined union members in labor
rallies, marches, and protest actions. Because of the efforts of
public figures like Solis, the workers in CHW eventually won a
landmark contract that led to guaranteed raises and free family
healthcare. The standards that were set at this large California chain
eventually pushed other hospitals in the Los Angeles area to raise
their wages and improve the benefits for their own workers.
We need more people like Obama and Solis in national government who
have been on the ground standing up for workplace democracy. But the
work needs to start as soon and possible. That begins with Solis'
confirmation.
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