I found that story very moving too and for good reason. My father (76 years old) and my mother (60 years old) will both join the Church on Saturday night. I am my father’s sponsor. Of course, I am looking forward to this moment with great anticipation!
Incidentally, my wife and I botch converted to Catholicism three years ago.
Sure, MS is an 'at-will' state, but you're talking about state employment law, which is preempted if it conflicts with federal law like the NLRA.
A MS employer who discriminated against a union-sympathizing employee in hiring would be laughed out of federal court (or the NLRB) if that employer raised the 'defense' of 'at-will' employment under state law. This would be akin to an employer raising the 'defense' of at-will employment in a federal Title VII discrimination suit (e.g., "MS law gives me [the employer] the right to fire my employees for any reason or no reason at all, so I can fire them on the basis of their race!"). I'm sure you know that argument is a non-starter.
Also, the NLRA doesn't just protect unions. It protects employees in the exercise of the rights to form, join or resist unions as well as the right to engage in certain concerted protected activities. So an employer can easily violate the NLRA even though no union is present in his/her workplace.
11/16/2006 3:27:25 PM PST
· 59 of 62 bourbon
to dixiechick2000; WKB
Barbour is easily the best Governor MS has had during my lifetime. (Of course, my lifetime has been pock-marked by such "lumniaries" as Cliff Finch and FOB Ray Mabus).