The Clinton Administration and Labor Law: Was Comprehensive Reform Ever a Realistic Possibility?

Abstract

Labor law reform, Employer opposition, National Labor Relations Act, Union decline,

The PA profession in the 1990s

“…Throughout the 1990s, the speculation was: “If the Clinton healthcare reform legislation passed, the demand for primary care providers needed to serve the uninsured population would be strong.”14,15 At this time, demand for medical services was growing, and in turn resulted in (or coincided with) a heightened market for PAs and APRNs. For the PA profession, the possibility of national healthcare reform was seen as a potential boon during which the number of programs and graduates would markedly expand 16.…”

Employer Practices, Labor Policy, and “Tough Times for the American Worker”

“…As of 2008, 7.6 percent of workers in the private sector and 36.8 percent in the public sector were unionized (BLS 2009b). Legislation to facilitate unionization and expedite adoption of an initial collective bargaining contract (Employee Free Choice Act of 2009) has not yet been approved by Congress; a confluence of factors contributed to the prior failure to reform labor law (Logan 2007). Also unclear is whether national health insurance, if enacted, will include the universal coverage called for by Greenhouse.…”

US union revival, minority unionism and inter-union conflict

“…Reversing union decline has prompted many so-called modernizers within the labour movement to actively lobby for National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) amendments, specifically targeted at the flaws in the certification process (Logan, 2007). There is another policy alternative, which can be actively pursued without any controversial or hard to achieve amendments to the NLRA.…”