Dean Baker points out why the maid was able to file the complaint against Strauss-Kahn
She’s union. Union employees are protected against unreasonable job terminations. See the entire article by Dean Baker here.
Tom Geoghegan made the same point in his excellent (and highly recommended) book Which Side Are You On?: Trying to be for Labor When It’s Flat on Its Back. In the case reported there, a white-collar worker was fired for reasons he thought were illegal, and he took the company to court. None of his colleagues would testify on his behalf except for the shop foreman, with whom he worked. His (white-collar) colleagues figured if they testified on behalf of their friend, the company would immediately fire them. The shop foreman didn’t have to worry about that: he was a member of a union and the company could not fire him simply for testifying in the trial.
The fact is that companies hate unions because most companies depend heavily on fear (slight, almost unnoticeable, but always present) to control employees, and if an employee is not afraid that she or he will be fired instantly upon displeasing some boss, then she or he might show signs of standing up for the rights of customers or employees or even—dread thought—himself or herself.
