Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Bush's Heavy Hand Smacks Federal Employee Unions



President George W. Bush denied collective bargaining rights to 8,600 federal workers in law enforcement, intelligence, and agencies involved with national security. Combine this with his eight year war on whistle blowers, and federal employees are literally on their own.

Bad management historically ended up with unions. President Bush qualifies as "such a manager." Rather than give employees recourse, George W. imposed a structural barrier. With the swipe of a pen, Bush issued an executive order.

Consider it a Christmas present for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, currently up in arms over a proposed new method for union organizing. Bush had the Chamber's back in 2007, with his executive order making it more difficult for private sector whistle blowers to prevail. Consumer recourse took a back seat to pharmaceutical and medical device makers under Bush's FDA preemption.

At varying times in American history, our federal government helped balance unfair power differentials. The current version clearly favors corporate rights.

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