REINVENTING LABOR UNIONS IN 21ST CENTURY!

REINVENTING LABOR UNIONS IN 21^ST CENTURY!

(Forbes, Adam Ozimek, New York Times)

(Steven Greenhouse, CNN, Gray Television Group)

(Josh Levs, Associated Press, Turner Broadcasting, Phuong Le)

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Georgia Alton, Joseph Weisenthal, Frazer Chronicle)

“We were sold out,” it’s the new labor union slogan, and possible a rallying cry in today’s topsy-turvy work world in the United States. Concessions by workers are common place, as fear and intimidation tactics, rule, and readily are hauled out of an employer’s tool chest whenever increased wages or benefits are on the agenda.  

In many instances union members defy local union bosses and cave in to management’s demands for the same wages and benefits as the old contract had, or that the company wants, wage and benefit concessions by the rank and file.

In today’s economy states are lined up with all sorts of inducements on the bargaining table to lure big business away to their state, and its workers that are willing to take almost whatever a company will offer as a wage to keep their jobs.

There is a movement afoot by powerful elements of management and their political allies to put an end to almost any organized worker collective bargaining power throughout the public sector as well as private. As I’ve said before, “there is a war ongoing between management and labor,” although undeclared, the movement is a war, the object, to completely eradicate labor of any power to bargain, or to have a voice in what happens in the work-place.

In the first decade of the 21^st century, union membership in the private sector has in recent years fallen under 8%.....levels not seen since the early 1930’s. Workers seem almost uninterested in joining, and strike activity for the most part has faded away. Construction trades in cities have suddenly shifted from over 75% to less than 25% membership. The labor force in unionized automobile and steel plants has fallen dramatically. Only the commercial sector of construction has retained about a 50% or greater union representation.

REASONS FOR THE FALL IN UNION MEMBERSHIP

I’ve never been in a union, so I don’t have any idea about the advantages involved with being a member, and yes, I think that there are changes that need to take place with regards to benefits for the worker, the pension plans, and the hourly rates that are paid. But labor has shot itself in the foot when it comes to getting much sympathy for non-union workers in the United States.

Let me put it this way, and I’ll only use one word…..envy, pure and simple, non union workers feel an envy towards those people who work for city garbage collectors and get paid $22 dollars an hour with benefits to do a job that a high school drop-out can do.

For me, it’s not a question of whether a workers wage is fair or not, when a union bargains collectively for wages, if a municipality doesn’t want to pay whatever the wage is…..then don’t settle. If I were to walk into my bosses office and ask for $25 an hour to dig holes, and he agrees and pays me $25 dollars…..exactly who’s at fault…..me for asking for the outrages wage, or my boss for accepting my demand? Chew on that one for a while.

The United States rate of union density is far below that of most western European nations with the exception of France, where union membership is between 20 and 60%. In the U.S. there has been a precipitous drop since the 1960’s from about a 55% union membership to today’s 8%. There are two factors that over the past half century has caused the drop, the disappearance of the blue-collor industrial jobs that spurred union demand…..and globalization.

Political constrains on unions have also become much more inhibiting over the past few decades, starting with the end of the New Deal, and intensifying with the Reagan Administration in 1981, the rules on organizing and the regulatory oversight of the workplace have made it harder to establish and sustain unions. Decentralization in the United State has allowing states to set many of their own rules, regulations and labor laws. States with anti-union laws make it especially hard to unionize the labor force, and attracting new business makes unionization nearly impossible.

HOW BUSINESS KEEPS THE LABOR UNIONS AT BAY

Why no socialism in America…..it’s a good and fair question, and one that scholars’ and economists have labored to answer over the years. The answers that have been arrived at by these people are all over the board and usually are far from what actually has, and is happening.

Answers are perplexing, and sometimes contradict themselves, the easiest way to explain what the American worker is all about…..at least on the lead-up to the 21^st century is fierce individualism, for whatever reason, many people in the work-place feel the need to individualize their work, and hence themselves.

Another myth would be the loyalty that an employee shows to his owner, and the fact that it actually means something….it doesn’t. Loyalty in the American work place goes from your particular work station to the time-clock, once your outside; you owe your boss zero, zip, nada.

Public opinion is somewhat harsh, but nowhere near as harsh as political opinion from the right of the aisle. The conservative Republican Party has afforded restraints on unions that favor business, and whenever Republicans retain power or gain power, one of the first things that they do is to put a muzzle on unions and union practices.

Today at the state and local levels, unions have been forced to attach a critical free rider, making mandatory membership dues obsolete. So whatever benefits unions might gain for paying members, those who have chosen not to pay dues will receive those improvements.

About half of the states in America have successfully outlawed probably one of the most powerful mechanisms that labor unions had in their arsenal to encourage membership, the closed shop, or union shop has been rendered a mote issue and in fact illegal.

The job and efforts of management today is almost complete as labor unions in affect have lost its teeth, and now negotiate with the threat of gumming management. Business really in most parts of the country have no reason to fear or negotiate with their employees, as a fundamental practice is being stripped away…..the right to collectively negotiate for worker concerns.

DROPPING LIKE A ROCK

In 2013, the American work-force that belongs to unions has hit a 100 year low of 11.3% of American workers who hold a union membership card. The federal government in the last few years has worked to replace the unions in worker’s lives with governmental benefits, like health and safety regulations, minimum wages and equal pay.

The 2012 drop in worker participation and membership in unions dropped by half a percent by January of 2012, and the country is far removed from the heyday of unionization in the 1950’s when a 1/3 of private jobs were unionized. In the private sector today, that figure is down to an abysmal 6.6%. Unionized Americans today, in early 2014 are in the public sector, where 35.9% of workers belong to a union.

Labor unions missed the opportunity of coalition; the AFL-CIO embraced both the blue collar, AFL (skilled) workers, and CIO, (unskilled) workers. However that coalition collapsed decades ago, today skilled workers go to college, gain a degree and take a brief case to work.

In today’s work-world, labor organization for the purpose of almost protection against management and business owners isn’t necessary at this time. Government today…..at the present time, has enacted rules, regulations and labor laws that that serve to quell many of labors fears and concerns about work-place safety. In addition that is periodic talk about a living wage…..just enough talk to give low wage earners hope for better days.

The AFL-CIO never reached out to both its skilled workers as well as the unskilled, the meter was running, and the union hierarchy failed to seize the moment. Rumblings by management, local, state and national government levels also went unheeded, and the moment was lost…..and in the end (the long term) there’ll be hell to pay…..you can quote me on this one.    

THE FINAL VERDICT

In the days of John L. Lewis, Walter Reuther, Samuel Gompers, and Coleman Young, the fight to establish unions, membership, and labor rules, regulations and laws, the organizers met business owners almost tit for tat. There was a mentality that if management used clubs, workers and organizers would use knives, and if management used guns, labor protesters would use bigger guns.

Much was gained in those formative years, but what is the usual final outcome, unions got lazy, grew complacent and corrupt, and finally lost sight of their reason for being. There also was an easy alliance with organized crime that set in motion the place where labor unions finds itself today…..a toothless lion, old, kicked in the corner and pretty much useless.

Things for unions looks grim at the present time, clearly management has the upper hand, and a completely new and reinvented union movement will be necessary. It probably won’t happen in my lifetime, but for the labor movement will take more shots before it decides to regroup, and to reinvent itself.

And whenever this reinvention happens it’ll be way past due, and thousands of transgressions will have been endured by the worker of America…..I guess its how we roll as a people.

HAVE A NICE DAY!