Labor & Employment Law

Republicans Go ?Nah, Nah, Nah? and Ban Word ?Labor? from Committee

By Mike Hall

Petty. Petty. Petty. With major issues like jobs and the economy straining for attention, House Republican leaders took a big step to solving the nation?s problems when they boldly acted?drum roll, please?to change the name of the Education and Labor Committee to the Education and Workforce Committee.

Give me a bleedin? break. They so hate the word labor because after all, it?s often followed by the word union. OMG!

The Education and Labor Committee was founded in 1867 and retained that name?except for a brief time when it was split into separate Education and Labor committees?through both Democratic and Republican majorities for 122 years.

In 1995, the last time a group of swaggering, loud-mouthed extremists?remember Newt and his cohorts, the tea party forebears??hit Capitol Hill, they stripped the word “labor” from the committee door.

In 2006, figuring 122 years of congressional history should be honored, the new Democratic majority restored the word labor.

So here’s another symbolic bird-flip from Republicans to working people over a concept that’s clearly unfamiliar to them: Labor.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on January 04, 2011 (boomark / email).