> There is effectively no right to organize in the US for most workers. Sure
> it's available in theory, but in practice, forget about it. I had two
> people from UE on the radio, and an international observer from Nigeria,
> the other night to talk about public workers in North Carolina, where it
> is illegal for them to bargain collectively. (That's also true of
> Virginia.) Is there any other place in the civilized world that has such a
> law?
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So what conclusion should we draw from this - that if the Bush
administration were improbably to abolish unions and collective agreements
at a stroke tomorrow, it wouldn't matter? That if the labour movement,
feeble as it is, were to respond with demonstrations - and, heaven forbid,
job actions - against such a measure, we wouldn't turn out in support? And,
if we did, why we would bother to do so if current union rights, as you say,
are not merely hemmed in with restrictions but are available only "in
theory" to "most workers"? Are you really saying that the denial of
bargaining rights to public employees in North Carolina, Virginia, and other
so-called "right to work" Sun Belt states is true for the majority of the US
working class? I agree with you that the US, in this area as in so many
others concerning the public welfare, badly lags the rest of the "civilized
world", but I think in this instance you're allowing your righteous anger to
badly skew your perspective.