I would be interested to work with others to create laws to protect workers rights & make employment situations more transparent. Now on my 3rd RIF, I researched my Fortune 100 company and found they were in good fiscal standing - however if I had had more transparency, I would have learned they weren't.  For those of us trying to re-enter the workforce, we are the most vulnerable to layoffs due to the lack of seniority. Here is what I would like to see:

*   Collective work history score for the employee: If you have been a good employee then you would receive a score from employeers that travels with you from job to job, much like a credit rating based on criteria that reflects a good employee. If your RIFed over and over, it would not count against you or make you look unstable if you had a score proving otherwise. It would make you a valid canidate for the next opportunity.

*   Collective score for employers: Score would reflect criteria giving transparency to fiscal strength, RIF's, layoffs and employee terminations, & employee promotions. Employees interviewing with a company would be able to determine risk for accepting a position with the employer.

*   Re-write state statutes that repeal the "termination at will" and ensure there is a legal contract in place for new hires that guarantees them an alloted period of time that they may remain in the job given they meet performance expectations. If there is a challenge to this, bring in a 3rd party to review the situation and ensure there is a valid reason to terminate the employee

*   Make it illegal for employers to intimidate workers to step down into lower paying positions. Per the contract above, an employer must validate with emperical data that they can not afford the position and re-negociate the contract with a 3rd party overseeing. 

While I am aware the above reflects the concept of UNION, I would offer that it be considered to have a public oversite organization or a commercial operation that would act as the 3rd party. This is because starting a union in some organizations can get you fired & because present unions do not always try to create a win-win situation with the employer. The 3rd party could offer workers assistance to organize into a union, not organize or become a collective entity unto themselves. I believe calling it something other than Union, would give the advantage as there is not legalese in place to stop it.

Finally, I feel strongly that American workers hold much more power than anyone realizes. If you are middle class - you are carrying the interest of the rich and the poor on your back. That is a lot of power. We need to figure out a way to collectively use that in a win-win, but with our own interests at the forefront.

Thanks.

twothirdsdutch@yahoo.com