One take on the New York Governor Mess

I have been away for a while but I thought I would put this up. It is an article by John Tasani and it is his view on the Eliot Spitzer and how he rated for labor.

There isn't going to be much oxygen left in the public space to remember what Eliot Spitzer has done for organized labor. I'm not going to argue he was perfect in this area--which politician is? But, here are three things to remember:1. I think he was 100 percent right to propose granting drivers licenses to undocumented workers. Period. And the labor movement left him hanging on this one. That was our mistake.2. He signed an executive order giving 50,000 child care workers the right to have a union (meaning, recognizing them as employees). If it wasn't for that order those folks would continue to be among the most abused people in the service sector.3. The road to labor hell is paved with mountains of regulations that are on the books but never get enforced. The best thing, perhaps, that Spitzer did was appoint Patricia Smith as his Commissioner of Labor (who subbed in as our keynote speaker last night and did a fabulous job). Smith, presumably with the governor's agreement (even though my guess is she has to still battle with the more pro-business elements in the governor's administration), has gone after employers who don't pay workers compensation, don't pay overtime and try to mis-classify workers (claiming they are independent contractors rather than employees). So, maybe while you are talking with people or shooting around emails in the next couple of days recounting the salacious elements of The Story, it wouldn't hurt to remind people that there are a lot of people in New York State who have a slightly better life thanks to his policies.