A New York Times editorial this weekend criticizes Republican obstructionism designed to stop the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from protecting workers' rights by blocking President Obama's appointments to the board.

Republicans have used procedural maneuvers to prevent Obama's nominees from being confirmed to the board. President Obama responded by using recess appointments to fill the spots. But Republican-appointed federal judges ruled that the recess appointments were unconstitutional, ignoring years of precedent. The ruling (and a related one) also threatens more than 900 NLRB decisions that were made by appointees put on the NLRB in a manner that the Republican-appointed judges said was unconstitutional.

On a more global scale, similar opposition to unions is contributing to a business climate that allows tragedies like the recent deaths of 1,100 factory workers in Bangladesh to happen. In The Washington Post, Lance Compa argues that a stronger labor movement in the countries that build the products sold by multinational corporations like Walmart, Apple and many others would go a long way to improving worker safety and working conditions. 

Compa describes the successful partnership of Fruit of the Loom and workers in Honduras, who worked together to create a better work environment and give workers the freedom to form unions. More than 5,000 workers are now organized at the company's factories in Honduras and productivity and profits have not been harmed by workers and their employer coming together to make both sides better off than they previously were.