One small step for labor . . .

Terrific piece of news for the labor movement today.

The Bushies loved to point to the Democrats in Congress as having voted against Homeland Security -- remember the famous assertion that the Democrats didn't care about America's security? -- because the Dems objected to the bill's provisions for moving employess about at will, leaving union rights behind.

Naturally the Bushies got their way with the Congress they pretty much own, but today's New York Times reports a small bump in Roughshod Road:

In a ruling on Friday night, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of Federal District Court said the rules did not "ensure collective bargaining" as required by the law that created the department. The rules were to take effect on Monday.
. . .
Judge Collyer, who was appointed by President Bush, said the 2002 law gave federal officials "extraordinary authority" to develop a personnel system without regard to many of the constraints normally imposed by Civil Service laws. But, she said, the Bush administration exceeded even the "broad authority" granted by Congress.
. . .
Under such circumstances, she said, "a deal is not a deal, a contract is not a contract, and the process of collective bargaining is a nullity."

And it appears the ruling may ultimately cut a much wider swath across federal agencies, as this was the Administration's model for future assault on long-standing labor rights.

Read the whole article here.