On the recordMarch 10, 2011
I want to thank the gentlelady for coming down. You make a very important point about the stagnation of the American standard of living. It correlates with the stagnation of the American labor movement. The stagnation of the American labor movement has everything to do with the difficulty under the National Labor Relations Act of organizing a union today. When unions were first legalized in the 1930s, they were encouraged. Today, it is very difficult under the existing statute to organize a union; and I'm amazed that unions are still alive and kicking. But I must say what we've seen from Wisconsin is a national reawakening of the American trade union movement. I think unions are going to be able to organize in ways they would never have been able to organize without Wisconsin. Thank you, Governor Walker. ... I don't think it does any good, he said, when public employees are denigrated or vilified or their rights are infringed upon. We need to attract the best and the brightest to public service.
