Yesterday, retired Sen. John Warner (R.-Va.) endorsed Hillary
Clinton. Although he had a strong conservative record, he also
worked with Democrats in areas of shared interest. That is why Tea Party and other alienated
people are today calling him a RINO (Republican-In-Name-Only), suggesting he is
a faux Republican.
On Feb. 12, 1997, I testified before the Senate Committee on
Labor and Human Resources. A centrist Senator who flip-flopped parties (Sen. James
Jeffords, R.-Vt.) invited me (and eight other panelists) to present my research on
nonunion work teams. In a survey of 88 workplaces in more than 12 states, I found
that these teams often are popular with workers.
These groups empower them, in varying degrees, to make work schedules, set rules, develop no-smoking and family leave policies, make efficiency improvements, and so on. These groups are also abused by some employers who form them as “company unions” to ward off union organizing drives. My research concluded that the nation’s main labor law should be modified to provide employers more flexibility to form and administer nonunion work teams.
These groups empower them, in varying degrees, to make work schedules, set rules, develop no-smoking and family leave policies, make efficiency improvements, and so on. These groups are also abused by some employers who form them as “company unions” to ward off union organizing drives. My research concluded that the nation’s main labor law should be modified to provide employers more flexibility to form and administer nonunion work teams.
After I testified for five minutes, the senators asked
questions. Sen.
Warner lambasted my work as “pro-union,” which was odd because I was testifying
in support of the TEAM Act, a bill that employers wanted to see enacted.
He was fierce in challenging my work. Sen. Kennedy jumped in and attacked my work as “anti-union.”
He was just as fierce as Sen. Warner. I
squirmed in my chair, not wanting to point out that my work supported a compromise
reading of the National Labor Relations Act.
There was nothing phony about Sen. Warner’s conservative Republican values that day, and nothing phony about Sen. Kennedy’s liberal Democratic
values. To those who attack Sen. Warner today, shame on you for creating a lie
about Sen. Warner’s allegiance to the Republican Party and its core values.
Your insult of him is in the same league as denying that President Obama was
born in the U.S. Calling people insulting names and spreading scurrilous lies does not change the identity of
these elected leaders.
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