The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry representatives are blocking a new rule that would better inform workers of their legal rights. The rule, issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in August 2011, would inform employees of their right to organize and bargain collectively. The rule would add to the existing framework of policies to protect workers' right to know, but business lawsuits are preventing it from taking effect.

"[P]rompt disclosure of expenditures can provide shareholders and citizens with the information needed to hold corporations and elected officials accountable for their positions and supporters," the U.S. Supreme Court wrote in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. On March 30 – more than 26 months after Citizens United was decided – a federal judge struck down a Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulation that had been preventing disclosure.

The so-called Regulatory Freeze for Jobs Act, reported out of the House Judiciary Committee earlier today, is the clearest example yet of just how broken the national debate on public protections has become. This bill is ostensibly about getting Americans back to work, but the bill contains no provisions to address unemployment. Instead, it would gut the system of public protections that underpins our entire economy.

This year, Feb. 14 signified more than a Valentine’s Day celebration for worker safety advocates. Last Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the regulatory review of a proposed rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that would strengthen standards for protecting workers from crystalline silica, a known human carcinogen that is linked to fatalities and disabling illnesses such as silicosis.