Bernie Sanders' New Bill Would Wipe Out Union-Busting 'Right-to-Work' Laws

[ehrnst]

25. When has supporting unions *not* been a goal embraced by Democratic Party?

It Looks more like Bernie is supporting the legislation that Democratic Party leaders are already working on, which is wise of him to do.

From last November:

https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dem-leaders-unveil-pro-workers-rights-agenda-to-union-praise/

Schumer said the Democratic plan would begin to “unwind a rigged system that undermines every worker’s ability to negotiate with the employer.” Indeed, the reforms would revamp decades-old labor laws that unions believe are too friendly to employers and make it difficult to retain members or add new ones.

The Democratic Party has been out in front of this issue for decades. We have been the leaders on this advocacy.

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/labor/

Restore collective bargaining rights for unions and defend against partisan attacks on workers’ rights. Hillary was an original co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act. Hillary will fight to strengthen the labor movement and to protect worker bargaining power. She will continue to stand up against attacks on collective bargaining and work to strengthen workers’ voices.

2012 platform:
http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/democratic-party-platform-backs-workers-rights/
“Democrats believe the right to organize and collective bargaining is a fundamental American value,” the platform says. It pledged the party to fight for “laws that provide a fair process to choose union representation and for increased penalties” for labor law-breakers. Both concepts were key sections of the EFCA."

2008 platform:

Democrats are committed to an economic policy that produces good jobs with good pay and benefits. That is why we support the right to organize. We know that when unions are allowed to do their job of making sure that workers get their fair share, they pull people out of poverty and create a stronger middle class. We will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions and fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. We will restore pro-worker voices to the National Labor Relations Board and the National Mediation Board and we support overturning the NLRB's and NMB's many harmful decisions that undermine the collective bargaining rights of millions of workers. We will ensure that federal employees, including public safety officers who put their lives on the line every day, have the right to bargain collectively, and we will fix the broken bargaining process at the Federal Aviation Administration. We will fight to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so that workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods. We will continue to vigorously oppose "Right-to-Work" Laws and "paycheck protection" efforts whenever they are proposed. Suspending labor protections during national emergencies compounds the devastation from the emergency. We opposed suspension of Davis-Bacon following Hurricane Katrina, and we support broad application of Davis-Bacon worker protections to all federal projects. We will stop the abuse of privatization of government jobs. We will end the exploitative practice of employers wrongly misclassifying workers as independent contractors.

2004 platform:

Standing up for workers. We will ensure that the right to organize a union exists in the real world,
not just on paper, because that's how we create more jobs that can support families. That means
reforming our labor laws to protect the rights of workers (including public employees) to bargain
contracts and organize on a level playing field without interference. It also means barring the permanent
replacement of legal strikers. And we will of course reverse this Administration's cuts in wages for
working people by restoring overtime protections for hard-working Americans. We will strengthen
health and safety protections as well.

2000 Platform:

Now we must go further - not just playing defense against misguided Republican attempts to set back the cause of worker's rights, but moving the ball forward. We need a new national law banning permanent striker replacement workers - so that workers' right to organize into a union and bargain with their employers are never compromised. While we have made the workplace the safest ever, we need to further increase workplace safety. We should stiffen penalties for employer interference with the right to organize and violations of other worker rights. We must also reform labor laws to protect workers' rights to exercise their voices and organize into unions by providing for a more level playing field between management and labor during organizing drives, and facilitating the ability of workers to organize and to bargain collectively.