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Under the pretext of “national security,” the Bush administration is undermining the rights of workers to organize collectively and removing vital worker protections, say many advocates of labor rights. From airline strikes to dockworker lock-outs, the Bush administration has cited “national security” interests, ordering workers to return to their jobs, effectively neutralizing the power of a strike. U.S. officials have also opposed the rights of workers to unionize in new wings of the federal government — the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security — arguing that union labor is not “flexible” in times of crisis. On this edition of Making Contact, we take a look at national security and labor rights.
Featuring:
David Bacon, labor journalist and contributor to the Nation magazine and Pacific News Service; Jeimy Gebin, baggage screener at Los Angeles International Airport who is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of Transporation Norm Mineta;Pricilla Murolo, professor at Sara Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York;Richard Meed (President), Clarence Thomas (secretary- treasurer), Reesa Collier, and Lee Lynch – Members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10.
For more information:
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California - Los Angeles, California
International Longshore and Warehouse Union Headquarters
Pacific Maritime Association Headquarters - San Francisco, California
Tags: activism, civil liberties and rights, labor
