Full Version: Towards a worker bill of rights
Right #1-Any worker who is employed for 40 hours a week is entitled to health care.
Right #2-Any worker who is employed for 40 hours a week is entitled to above poverty wages for a family of three as defined by the department of labor.
Right #3-Any full time employee who is employed in the same place for three years will have the right to due process proceedings before having employment terminated.
Right #4-Every place of employment will have an established grievance policy.
Right #5-Full time employees who stay with an employer for a minimum of three years is entitled to two weeks vacation; one week paid.
Right #6-The right of partially-paid paternal/maternal leave shall not be infringed.
Right #7-Laid off employees will have the right to receive two years of job training to train for a new occupation courtesy of the government.
Right #8-CEO pay shall not be greater than the ratio of 20 to 1.
Right #9-Employees will not be forced to sign privacy statements or confidentiality forms.
Just some thoughts. Some are perhaps more realistic than others. In particular, I would definitely like to see #s 3 & 4 implemented. How about you?
Right #2-Any worker who is employed for 40 hours a week is entitled to above poverty wages for a family of three as defined by the department of labor.
Right #3-Any full time employee who is employed in the same place for three years will have the right to due process proceedings before having employment terminated.
Right #4-Every place of employment will have an established grievance policy.
Right #5-Full time employees who stay with an employer for a minimum of three years is entitled to two weeks vacation; one week paid.
Right #6-The right of partially-paid paternal/maternal leave shall not be infringed.
Right #7-Laid off employees will have the right to receive two years of job training to train for a new occupation courtesy of the government.
Right #8-CEO pay shall not be greater than the ratio of 20 to 1.
Right #9-Employees will not be forced to sign privacy statements or confidentiality forms.
Just some thoughts. Some are perhaps more realistic than others. In particular, I would definitely like to see #s 3 & 4 implemented. How about you?
I'm rather leery about calling these "rights" as if they should be enforced by law. As paranoid as I am about big business, I'm also paranoid about big government. Instead, let me agree that these are all things that should be encouraged in the business culture. How about a "carrot" instead of a "stick" -- let businesses that do these things get some kind of tax break.
Let's look at them one at a time.
#1 -- Very important; impossible to enforce. Reward businesses that do this.
#2 -- This is a huge can of worms to open. Decent wages are probably best encouraged by allowing a reasonable amount of power to unions. (I'm also paranoid about "big labor" but unions have an important role to play.)
#3 -- I see your point, but I don't see why three years, or what exactly the "due process" would be. People get fired for many reasons, from being dishonest or incompetent, to increasing profits. There are unjust firings, to be sure, but it's hard to see what could be done about this that isn't already done. (Anti-discrimination lawsuits, for example.)
#4 -- I would expect any decent business (except, perhaps, for extremely small ones) to have something like this. If not, they're just a dictatorship.
#5 -- Again, maybe this would be something that a business could be rewarded for.
#6 -- Aren't there already some regulations about this? I'm not sure.
#7 -- This could run into a lot of money. Two years? Maybe an alternative would be for there to be government training centers that displaced workers could attend at little or no cost (perhaps depending on income), along with job placement centers. Doesn't this already exist to some extent?
#8 -- I don't know if I would put the salary cap that you suggest, but maybe there could be reasonable regulations against blatantly predatory practices like "golden parachutes."
#9 -- This depends on exactly what you mean. One should not expect employees to give away genuine trade secrets, but there should be full protection for "whistleblowers" who expose dangerous or illegal practices.
Let's look at them one at a time.
#1 -- Very important; impossible to enforce. Reward businesses that do this.
#2 -- This is a huge can of worms to open. Decent wages are probably best encouraged by allowing a reasonable amount of power to unions. (I'm also paranoid about "big labor" but unions have an important role to play.)
#3 -- I see your point, but I don't see why three years, or what exactly the "due process" would be. People get fired for many reasons, from being dishonest or incompetent, to increasing profits. There are unjust firings, to be sure, but it's hard to see what could be done about this that isn't already done. (Anti-discrimination lawsuits, for example.)
#4 -- I would expect any decent business (except, perhaps, for extremely small ones) to have something like this. If not, they're just a dictatorship.
#5 -- Again, maybe this would be something that a business could be rewarded for.
#6 -- Aren't there already some regulations about this? I'm not sure.
#7 -- This could run into a lot of money. Two years? Maybe an alternative would be for there to be government training centers that displaced workers could attend at little or no cost (perhaps depending on income), along with job placement centers. Doesn't this already exist to some extent?
#8 -- I don't know if I would put the salary cap that you suggest, but maybe there could be reasonable regulations against blatantly predatory practices like "golden parachutes."
#9 -- This depends on exactly what you mean. One should not expect employees to give away genuine trade secrets, but there should be full protection for "whistleblowers" who expose dangerous or illegal practices.
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Topic closed...</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Reason: Question to debate too vague or missing.<br /><br />Recommended action: If you started this topic, please contact the staff member who closed it by clicking the PM button below this post with a clear question to debate.<br /><br />Helpful links:<br />- Starting New Topics<br />- Survival Guide<br />- The Rules<br />- Staff Directory</td></tr><tr><td class='darkrow1'><div align='center'>Note: This is an automated response.</div></td></tr></table></div>
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