A Petition to Make Labor Organizing a Civil Right

Should labor organizing be a civil right?

The authors of a book answering that very question — "Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right: Rebuilding a Middle-Class Democracy by Enhancing Worker Voice" — are now petitioning the Democratic Party to make it a platform issue.

Recognizing declining union density, shrinking middle class and America's weak labor laws, Richard D. Kahlenberg and Moshe Z. Marvit argue for reform that recognizes the civil right to form or join a union.

"This legislation would provide anti-discrimination protection to workers trying to organize a union akin to those provided under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to protect against discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin," says the petition. "This change would give workers real rights and remedies in exercising their right to have a voice in the workplace, would diminish employers' violation of currently weak labor laws, and would finally recognize what most Americans already believe: It is an individual's civil right to join or organize a union, and they should not be fired for exercising that right."

Sign it here.