It’s All About RESPECT

October 12, 2007

It was only a year ago that the Bush-appointed and Republican-dominated National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) denied millions of men and women the chance to bargain for a better future. The infamous party-line vote on the so-called “Kentucky River” cases reinterpreted the definition of “supervisor,” expanding the number and type of workers who could be classified as such – and be barred from joining a union. The decision affected numerous workers, including thousands of nurses who coordinate the work of other employees to deliver services. According to NLRB-speak, they are now “supervisors,” a decision that does not bode well for the nearly 60,000 nurses represented by AFSCME in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The sheer absurdity of the situation prompted this outrageous spoof by comedian Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.” Enter the RESPECT Act, a bipartisan initiative to redress the NLRB’s decision and allow more than eight million workers to regain their right to join a union. The Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act was recently passed by the House Education and Labor Committee and is now headed for debate in the full House of Representatives. It presently has 149 co-sponsors (and counting). It’s time to restore the American Dream for working families. After all, it’s just a matter of RESPECT.