Nader, Green Party support workers, unions

If you care about basic human rights in the workplace and the rights of working Americans to a dignified existence, then you're already a better person than George W. Bush and Al Gore. But government, the media and other institutions keep telling us to pick between only two options, Democrat or Republican. This is tragic if you value democracy, because more and more, these two options agree with each other on a host of issues.\nFor those of you who haven't done the math yet, that leaves you with just one option for the shaping of this country's future. Does this sound like democracy? How would you like it if you were given only one choice on other things in life? What if you were told to decide between a yellow Yugo and a lime green Yugo when you were buying a car? Unless you really had your heart set on this car, you'd be outraged, because you know there are hundreds of better options out there. Apply this to the presidential race, and you will be outraged that you have only two very similar, rather sorry choices for president.\nGore and Bush agree on so many things it should make you sick! How many times did they say in the debates, "Well yeah, I would go along with that," or "Yes, I would have to agree with you there?" This tragic truth is elevated to an outright calamity when you consider that both parties agree on extremely important issues to which large portions of our population are personally opposed.\nThat is why Ralph Nader of the Green Party is running for president.\nOne key issue Gore and Bush agree on, or agree to ignore, is labor issues and workers' rights. The United States entered the World Trade Organization in 1995, and in recent months millions of people all over the world, including those in Seattle, passionately protested this blood-sucking institution. Yet the Democrats and Republicans both support this organization. They both support NAFTA, even though 20 percent of the voting public supported anti-NAFTA candidate Ross Perot. This wasn't because of his boyish good looks or his "pigs-in-a-poke" charm, either. \nWhy are people outraged by NAFTA, the WTO and other free trade institutions? Because they hurt millions of U.S. workers and workers abroad, and lower U.S. environmental standards to third world levels. Instead of exporting higher environmental standards to the rest of the world, America has been forced to import lower standards. The United States lost its right to control environmental standards when it committed to these trade institutions. It can be sued in international courts if its laws do not comply with these ruthless trade agreements. \nThese agreements undermine labor rights, too. More easily than ever, U.S. companies can jump ship and leave our nation's hard-working laborers to sink into poverty. U.S. companies can exploit workers in third world countries and then export these goods back to us at unreduced prices. So, whom is this helping? Not Me. Not you. Certainly not the 4,600 workers here in Bloomington and Louisville, Ky. who are losing their jobs at a GE refrigerator plant after GE decided to move the operation to Mexico. I don't think it benefited their families. How does this help our community? A vote for Gore or Bush says you support this. Nader wants to pull out of the WTO and renegotiate trade agreements so they respect the environment and support workers. By voting for Nader, you stand up for American workers and communities. \nAnother labor issue Gore and Bush conveniently ignore, while a large part of the population suffers, is the debate over the Taft-Hartley Act. This act was put into law at the height of the communist red scare to thwart communist influence. Because people feared unions might be taken over by communists, the law denied millions of workers the right to unionize. This effectively destroyed existing unions' power by killing their ability to strike. The Cold War ended 10 years ago. Let's get with the times and adjust policy to our changing political environment. It is time to liberate our nation's working people and allow them to fight for better living standards. Bush and Gore are content to continue governmental abuse of workers. Nader supports repealing the anti-worker Taft-Hartley Act.\nWhy is this so important? Because labor unions have been emasculated. Workers cannot strive for basic standards, such as a living wage. Both Bush and Gore support raising the minimum wage by a dollar over two to three years. Sure, this sounds pro-worker, but in fact, it's a patronizing insult. If the minimum wage were raised a dollar right now, it would still be still be $1.20 less per hour in actual purchasing power than it was in 1968! If workers were able to make a living wage, not only would they live more comfortably, they'd be putting more money back into the economy. If you vote for Bush or Gore you crush America's working families. By voting for Nader you support them, because he supports raising the minimum wage to a living wage standard.\nLabor and trade issues are one example among countless examples where Americans suffer from being given only one dreadful option. Bush and Gore simply don't care! But Nader and the Green Party offer you another option. By voting for Nader you are voting to help workers, protect our environment and broaden our democracy.\nTo learn more about IU Greens, visit www.indiana.edu/~iugreens or e-mail iugreens@indiana.edu.