http://www.forward.com/articles/14053/

August 21, 2008

Jaime Rapaport, Forward

The right to bargain collectively, the right to a minimum wage, the right to protection from hazardous working conditions — these fundamental rights, now enshrined in American law, are being trampled upon at an alarming rate, just as they were when immigrant Jews suffered and sometimes died in the sweatshops of the early-20th century.

The National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor, the bodies responsible for enforcing labor laws, have been unable to stop the decades-long increase in the illegal exploitation of workers. Both the NLRB and the Labor Department have lacked the funding — and the sense of urgency — needed for enforcement.

Meanwhile, within the business community, some have begun to recognize that treating workers fairly can be a win-win situation. For example, in a recent Los Angeles Times opinion article, the owner of the Radisson hotel at Los Angeles’s international airport voiced his support for the concept of a living wage, arguing that dedicated and fairly compensated workers help increase guest satisfaction levels while reducing employee turnover.

But such forward-thinking entrepreneurs are placed in a difficult situation when their competitors are allowed to violate labor laws with impunity. The next administration must show respect for America’s workers by allocating the funds necessary to enforce the laws already on the books. American Jews — as historic victims of an under-regulated economy and as defenders of justice for all of God’s people — have an obligation to advocate for this change.

Jaime Rapaport is deputy director of Progressive Jewish Alliance.