I read in today's New York Times that Senate hearings were held with the head of the mine safety agency, David Dyer, yesterday, and that Dyer walked out, leaving Arlen Specter somewhat incensed. I also read that Ford plans to lay off thousands of workers and to close seven factories.
I understand that issues like abortion and Iraq are attention-grabbing and I like to contribute by $.02 myself, but I wonder if we as Democrats are not missing a major opportunity here.
Whether or not you agree with the idea that the Democrats' message has been entirely too diffuse during the last couple of election cycles, the need for good, solid employment in a safe workplace is a concept to which all of us can relate. I'm a historian of 19th-century labor, and when I read about miners trapped underground carving last messages to their loved ones into their lunchboxes, it sounds all too familiar.
We need to start raising some of the big questions on economic issues. Why can't the mine safety administration shut down a mine whose directors are guilty of repeat infractions? Are workers' lives worth so little?
When all the factory jobs, and many of the professional jobs, are "outsourced," what plans do the Republicans have for the employment of the majority of the American population? Are we all going to work for Wal-Mart? I'd like to see us discussing some real-life options for the American workforce. I'd like to see us discussing the fallacy of "freedom of contract," when there is only one employer in town.
They are intensely moral issues, just like abortion and Iraq. They have a big draw. And they touch every one of us.