Now, THIS is messed up....

An article sent to me by an overjoyed reader.

Lenny Sapozhnikov, AFL-CIO deputy state director for Pennsylvania, recently talked with Michael Munger, president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1660, which represents workers at the Wheatland Tube Co., in Wheatland, Pa. Munger recently was elected vice president of the Mercer County Central Labor Council, and last week, he led a rally outside the office of Rep. Phil English (R) as part of the USW’s Protect Our Kids—Stop Toxic Imports campaign.

Q: You just wrapped up the Toxic Trade Day of Action on Jan. 16. Tell us more about the goals of this campaign and your own involvement.

Munger: The goal of the campaign is getting tougher trade laws and more stringent safety tests for imports coming into the country. We all heard about the unsafe products coming into the country. Kids are having contact with toxic chemicals in those products and getting sick. We have good safety measures in this country but no one is testing the imports. We want tougher trade laws enacted.

Mike, Mike, Mike: All we need to do is make final retailers responsible for the safety of the products, and open them to private lawsuits if the products they sell are toxic or dangerous. Common law doctrine of "last best chance," in a statute.

We don't want bureaucrats at the borders opening up container boxes, breaking pallets, opening shrink wrap, opening cardboard boxes, and then opening the plastic wrappers that protect toys. That will never work.

Just make the retailer responsible, privately, for products they sell. And the problem will be solved.

The "problem," in fact, is that we rely on the state in the first place. This is an easy problem to solve.

We do NOT want "tougher trade laws enacted," Mike!