One of the latest ideas to revive labor’s sagging fortunes is contained in a 2012 book, Why Labor Organizing Should be a Civil Right. The core idea, developed by Richard Kahlenberg and Moshe Marvit, is that discrimination against an employee for engaging in union activity should be an offense under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The idea has gained support in the labor movement, and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) has even introduced a bill in Congress to make the proposal a reality. More recently, Chicago labor lawyer and author Thomas Geoghegan endorsed the approach in his new book, arguing (somewhat implausibly) that labor could trade away exclusive representation (in essence, agree to “right to work”) to obtain this legal protection.

Kahlenberg and Marvit argue that making labor a civil right is advisable for two main reasons. First, doing so would allow unions to go directly to federal court rather having to file unfair labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), an interminable process plagued by delays and subject to the whims of electoral politics. Union attorneys could take advantage of civil litigation tools such as discovery, jury trials, and punitive damages.