Remember the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, the KBR contractor who says that other co-workers raped her in Iraq in 2005? According to her contract, she can't bring criminal charges against them. Halliburton/KBR have actually fought vigorously *against* her right to be heard in an actual court, as opposed to arbitration by the corporation.
Sen. Al Franken submitted an amendment to a defense appropriation bill that would prohibit the U.S. from giving contracts to businesses who limit their employees' right to report criminal charges to authorities - not just sexual assault, but other crimes as well. Because, you know, having a JOB shouldn't require you to sign away your civil rights.
The amendment passed 68-30, including the support of 10 Republican Senators. All of the no votes were from Republican men. Among them? Our own Richard Burr.
I'm at a loss as to what his motivation could possibly be. Seriously, I've been sitting here for the last 10 minutes trying to play devil's advocate, and I've got nothing. Is it the Republicans' knee-jerk "pro-business" defense? That seems a little weak. We can debate about whether labor unions or environmental regulations hamper businesses, but criminal assault against your employees? How can anyone with a conscious argue that a business's inconvenience in any way outweighs a victim's right to justice. I'm sorry, that's f*cked up.
But Burr is up for re-election next year, so let's not forget about this one, okay?
No comments:
Post a Comment