03 Jun Use the Nuke, Harry, Use the Nuke
Marcus Hedger was wrongly fired. That’s what the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined. Despite that, Mr. Hedger lost his Antioch, Ill., home. His case got mired in allegations that the board that heard it was illegitimate.
Similarly, West Virginia’s Cannelton miners wrongly lost their jobs. The NLRB said so twice.But quarrels over NLRB quorums effectively nullified both decisions. Three of the miners have died waiting for justice.
“And that’s the way, uh-huh uh-huh, the rightwing likes it! Uh-huh uh-huh!”
Achieving such spectacular defeats of worker rights took Republicans years of focused, dedicated and relentless scheming. They’ve abused the filibuster process at a record rate.They’ve manipulated Senate recess to unprecedented levels. They’ve delayed and appealed decisions. Government disgusts Republicans, so obstructing it makes sense to them. They’re equally repulsed by unions, now representing a grand total 11.3 percent of all American workers, largely as a result of decades of effort by the GOP to destroy worker protections and worker rights. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., can hobble this right-wing campaign against working people by deploying the nuclear option. He’s got nothing to lose and workers have everything to gain.