U.S. Labor Rights Routinely Violated, Says Human Rights Watch Workers' basic rights are routinely violated in the United States because U.S. labor law is so weakly enforced and so filled with loopholes, says Human Rights Watch in a new report released on August 31. "The cards are stacked against workers in the U.S.," said Kenneth Roth, Executive Director. "The U.S. government cannot effectively press another country to improve labor standards while violating them itself. It should lead by example." Unfair Advantage: Workers' Freedom of Association in the United States Under International Human Rights Standards examines workers' rights to organize, bargain collectively and strike, and finds widespread violations across regions, industries and employment status. In its own annual report to the ILO in March, the U.S. Government stated that it "recognized and was committed" to freedom of association, but acknowledged that current labor laws do not protect all workers.:
