Reply #30: Dean is definitely pro-union

[Eloriel]

From his On the Issues http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_statement_labor

Workers rights are fundamental human rights. The right to form a union is guaranteed by the constitutional right to free association. It is just as important as the right to be free from discrimination.

The American labor movement has allowed millions of hard-working Americans to move into the middle class and create better lives for themselves and their children. Unions have secured basic rights to health care, occupational safety and retirement protection. It is the absence of labor unions in many third world countries that has caused the hemorrhaging of manufacturing jobs from U.S.-based factories to offshore plants. To restore economic growth, we need to strengthen the right to unionize here at home and enforce international labor standards abroad.

As President, I would vigorously enforce worker protections in federal law. I would appoint a Secretary of Labor who is a real friend of workers. I would appoint men and women to the National Labor Relations Board and the federal judiciary who will interpret federal labor laws broadly to protect the rights of workers.

My commitment to the right to organize has deep roots. As Governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2002, I stood with nurses and other employees seeking to form unions. I supported binding arbitration for municipal workers. And I signed into law agency fee protection for the state employees union, thereby providing union security for state employees. Prior to my service as Governor, I had a 100% pro-labor voting record as a state legislator. I was proud when I was recently awarded the first Paul Wellstone Award by the AFL-CIO for my commitment to the rights of workers.

As President, I would work to undo the harsh anti-labor policies of the current Administration. For example, we need a tough ergonomics standard, not just another scientific study. Also I would reverse the Bush Administration’s soon-to-be-finalized regulations eroding the right to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

I support a number of specific proposals to protect the right of workers to form a union:

much more

Eloriel