(re)class struggle

The National Labor Relations Board just ruled that nurses who are responsible for assigning tasks to other nurses are officially management, and therefore inelibable for union membership or protections.

The decision will have disastrous reprocussions accross the service and professional sectors, encouraging employers to re-classify workers out of bargaining units. This may well effect teachers, scientists, engineers and technicians among others.

The vote on the NLRB was along party lines, with Republicans voting for the change and Democrats voting against it. Say what you will about union involvement in politics: this decisions would have gone the other way had Al Gore or John Kerry been put in the White House.

The ruling wasn't as bad as it could have been, and nurses unions accross the country are mobilizing around it. However, the precident is clear- not satisfied with the roughly 10% union density in the American Workforce, labor's enemies want to use decisions like this one to further curtail the ability of workers to bargain collectively.

For more info, check out the AFL-CIO's blog.