A culture of near-impunity has taken shape in much of U.S. labor law and practice. All that awaits an employer determined to get rid of a worker who tries to form a union is a years-later reinstatement order the worker is likely to decline and a modest back-pay award. For many employers, it is a small price to pay to destroy a workers' organizing effort by firing its leaders.                    Photograph and background Image: Activists rally in May of 1999 at Asheville, N.C. to support freedom of association. ©1999 Keith Ernst, Southern Exposure Magazine.