It is precisely this lack of union membership that is preventing our country from rebounding from this economic crisis. Robert B. Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor during Bill Clinton’s administration, published an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times titled "The union way up" that states his belief that the way out of an economic recession could be relieved by increasing the number and the influential power of labor unions. He states that the ability to negotiate for higher wages increases disposable incomes, which thereby elevates ones’ ability to purchase goods and services. This increased desire to make purchases paves the way for new jobs to be created.

After
a long struggle, workers finally held the first free and fair union election
and signed their first contract negotiated by a democratically elected and
independent union leadership in August 2008. 
The agreement was a major step forward in the long struggle of workers
to protect their rights.  However, since
the time the agreement was signed, Firestone management has failed to implement
many of the important improvements in the new contract.  For example, the new contract reduced the
size of the production quota, but many workers throughout the plantation report

One of the main messages of the rally was asking Obama to put an end to the raids of immigrant homes and workplaces that ICE has been increasingly conducting over the past eight years.   The community is calling for reform of immigration laws, so that families and workers are better

Around the same time last summer, a factory called Jin Shun, located in Queens, New York, was investigated by the Labor Department and inspectors called the situation one of the worst sweatshops they have seen in years.  They found that the factory had withheld over 5.3 million dollars in wages from it’s workers.  Factory workers interviewed during the investigation reported working 66 hour weeks, six days a week, sewing clothing for companies including Banana Republic, Urban Apparel, Macy’s, Gap, and Victoria’s Secret.  Worst of all, employees were given written instructions (in both English and Mandarin, since