As workers' rights erode, unions are fighting back [View All]

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By Rick Bender

Special to The Times

Have you heard this one? The federal government says your boss can tell you not to talk with your coworkers when you're off duty. Can you imagine not being able to say "hi" to your coworkers at the local coffee shop or department store? The idea of a backyard barbecue for friends and coworkers just got a lot more complicated.

In a Big Brother ruling that is a slap in the face to American workers, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision this summer that a boss can direct employees not to "fraternize on duty or off duty." The decision was issued June 7 in the case of Guardsmark, a private security firm.

It's a sad fact that the Constitution's Bill of Rights governing our civic life has never been applied inside the workplace. In other words, your freedoms of speech and association have been suspended at the employer's door. Organized labor has always questioned this lack of freedom for American workers, but so far, the federal government has kept the workplace "off limits" for free speech and free association.

Now, the federal government apparently wants to make American workers' rights of free association and free speech "off limits" off the job, too.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002443663_bender18.html



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