Government doesn't support either workers or companies, John, at least technically. But in practice, since the Reagan era, the laws that protect the workers right to organize have literally been weakened to the point of making them effectively pro management. This law is simply an attempt to put some balance back in the equation so a worker doesn't have to worry about losing his/her job for exercising a right guaranteed under US law.

And here is a newsflash for all those "America - land of opportunity for all that want to work" kind of patriots. Among the most important reasons that the 20th century, particularly the middle 35 years or so, was the American century was the liberalization of labor laws that encouraged the developement of a middle class with buying power. Conservatives love to worship at the altar of the "job creators/wealth creators", and credit them with America's greatness. But we have seen times in this country, like the late 19th century were the laws favored the wealthy. The conditions were very much like they are now after the sowing of the seeds of trickle down economics. America's prosperity got squandered for all but the very wealthy. Another example of what happens when you create an environment which allows capitalism with no significant controls would be Mexico after NAFTA. Remember how that was supposed to improve the standard of living for the residents along the border? Nothing of the sort happened. The engine that drove the American miracle was a system of laws that could evolve and morph our economy, coupled with an emerging middle class with buying power.

This law would do more to stimulate the economy than any of the proposed plans. The employers, such as Walmart, will raise the typical straw man arguments that they use now in organizing drives. They can only win with half truths and misconceptions. And they are very effective at doing that. In fact, Walmart's having a meeting to discourage their workers and scare them into contacting their Congress persons, is a typical example of the tactic. Folks need their jobs, yet they know they are underpaid, their benefits suck, and the company is obscenely profitable. When the company, simply by implication, makes them feel like they could lose their job for supporting fair labor laws, it is coercive and takes a fair debate out of the equation.

Mick