Job Hunting Idiocy, part four

Note: I'm having trouble posting the full entry - I think it's too long, although I haven't seen an error message. Here's an excerpt.

Most Americans work under laws commonly known as the "at-will employment" doctrine. This means you're able to quit your job at any time. More importantly, though, it means your employer can fire you at any time, without cause. Your employer does not need to demonstrate any wrongdoing or incompetence on your part. They can, and often do, simply chuck people out whenever it suits them.

If you think this is just me ranting, read this decision from the California Supreme Court, one of the few courts to recognize that employers should be held accountable for their actions:

We have become a nation of employees. We are dependent upon others for our means of livelihood, and most of our people have become completely dependent upon wages. If they lose their jobs they lose every resource except for the relief supplied by the various forms of social security. Such dependence of the mass of the people upon others for all of their income is something new in the world. For our generation, the substance of life is in another man’s hands.

Rather than simply sit around and complain, I decided to take a little bit of action. I sent letters to the leading Democratic presidential candidates (Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Richardson, and Kucinich) urging them to address this imbalance of power. Why not the Republican candidates, you ask? Simple. Democrats care about individuals, Republicans care about large corporations. Feel free to disagree, but kindly don't muddy the waters around my employment law discussion.

I'll post my letter a bit later.