Business forum: Time for inalienable rights in workplace

Our country is on the cusp of great change: Young leaders are replacing the old; new ideas are bubbling to the surface and gaining strength; hope is replacing antipathy; and the current economic crisis has created a climate in which bold answers to old problems may be considered.

I suggest now is the time to address a critical issue: the need for a national set of minimum employment rights.

In the United States, we have chosen democracy and free-market capitalism as our political and economic systems, a conjunction we call democratic capitalism. In this union, government is the dominant partner, utilizing, orchestrating and regulating the economic sector to achieve the public good. Democratic capitalism has propelled our nation to a preeminent world role and to unparalleled levels of national prosperity.

The success of democratic capitalism is based on a balance of entrepreneurial drive and its rewards with a democratic sharing of the fruits of our collective efforts -- that is, a sharing of the immense wealth created by our economic system. The public's perception of the fairness of the distribution acts upon the social cohesion vital to the workings of democratic capitalism.

While democratic capitalism has lifted our nation to levels of prosperity never imagined by our forebears, it has a dark side as well. Periodic recessions and creative destruction (the deliberate replacement of old products, ideas and entire industries through market competition) take their toll, manifested in unemployment and poverty. Troublesomely, the hardships and rewards of democratic capitalism are unevenly shared: In 2005, the top 10 percent of income earners received 48.5 percent of all income; the bottom 40 percent received 12 percent.

The social contract

In this country, there has been an unwritten understanding that some individuals may acquire great wealth so long as the average citizen sees a steady improvement in his/her economic well-being, and that society will protect its members against misfortune through an array of benefits delivered by the government, nonprofits and business.

In the United States, employment benefits are largely financed and delivered by employers, who are under government mandate to provide unemployment insurance, workers' compensation in the event of a job-related injury and contributions to workers' Social Security. But access to important employment-related benefits such as health care insurance, retirement income, vacations and holidays, short- and long-term disability insurance, sick leave and assistance for child care are left to the discretion of the nation's 6 million employers.

As a consequence, classes of employees are created: those with full benefits - typically employees of government and large corporations; those with partial or poor benefits; and some without benefits altogether. As the promise and goal of democratic capitalism is equal treatment with respect to basic human rights, the assignment to corporations of the authority to decide who will receive benefits, and at what level, is to guarantee inequality of treatment.

I believe there are basic rights related to employment, income security, health and education that are important to the social harmony necessary for democratic capitalism to function. These rights must be accessible to all workers and be provided in equal measure:

• Protection against the loss of income through no fault of one's own; extensions of unemployment benefits during economic downturns; temporary income protection against the effects of globalization and technology; portable pensions; short- and long-term disability protection and survivors' income protection.

• Universal health care and protection against catastrophic health care issues.

• The right to work and to enjoy the fruits of one's labor; day-care subsidies for working parents and federal standards for paid vacations and holidays.

• Access to education sufficient to participate in today's labor market including free public education through the 14th grade; that is, through a two-year college or technical school -- a minimum level requirement in today's job market -- and retraining for those affected by globalization.

To ensure access and equality, I see fulfillment of these rights as a public responsibility, for only the federal government can ensure uniformity of access and treatment. Some benefits may be delivered directly by the government, while others by corporations under government mandate, as we do today with unemployment insurance, workers' compensation and benefits under Social Security.

Most developed nations regard access to education and health care, income protection, day care and paid vacations and holidays as essential to the well-being of their citizens and their nations. As such, they have become considered as basic rights, guaranteed by statute. The United States needs to reexamine our positions concerning these issues, for they touch on the health and well-being of our society as well.

Democratic capitalism is a proven vehicle for national economic prosperity. But as equality in the treatment of citizens in a democratic society is vital to the functioning of our system, there must be national standards for basic human rights with respect to employment, income security, health care and access to education. Decisions concerning basic economic and social benefits are the commission of government, not corporations. The question before our nation today is what economic or social benefits are rights vs. privileges and, if they are rights, who is responsible for delivering them -- the government, the nonprofit community, or business?

Democratic capitalism can afford unimaginable opportunities to our children and our grandchildren and to today's immigrants who, like our forebears, seek a new, safer, better life.

However, this can only occur in the context of a healthy and open society wherein all citizens are afforded an equal opportunity to participate.