The last bastion of hope for the middle class is fading, already weakened labor unions are in threat of becoming extinct. If you’re like most Americans my age(44) you probably don’t belong to a labor union. It’s also likely you’ve never had that carrot (of joining one) dangled in front of you and with good reason; union membership is down sharply. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; workers who belong to a union declined from 20.1 percent of the workforce in 1983 to just 11.9 percent in 2010. Why the decline? It’s complicated and didn’t happen overnight. Labor still had high membership in the late 70s but a wave of change was sweeping labor’s base: The Democratic Party; with stodgy white union bosses going head to head with hippies who cared more about feminism and environmentalism then work wages. The breaking point seems to have been when the AFL-CIO didn’t endorse George McGovern for president in 1972 in spite of his lifetime of support for them. It was the first time in their 17-year history they didn’t endorse a candidate. Nixon went on to win but was gone two years later because of the Watergate Scandal. Democrats that swept into control in the 1974 midterms didn’t forget the slight either, and labor couldn’t even win modest updates to labor laws. This began the decline of labor and it’s really never recovered.
Let’s look at Wisconsin for example, they had a long tradition of labor unions dating back to the 1900s and through many Republican Governors. All of whom respected, as author and history professor Leon Fink calls, The Wisconsin Idea which was a prosperous mixed economy combining the resources of farm and factory with science, engineering and human welfare expertise rooted in a state university system centered in Wisconsin. That is until Republican Governor Scott Walker got elected. In a few months he’s turned the “Wisconsin Idea” on its head. In spite of getting union concessions he still stripped union members of their ability to collectively bargain over benefits, pension and raises. Collective bargaining has gotten a bad rap during the Wisconsin upheaval when it is simply the process of allowing workers and employers to reach a voluntary agreement on the conditions of employment. Of course these talks will involve wages, hours, promotions, benefits, and other employment terms but both sides have to agree to the terms. Most of us don’t get a say in any of the above so there is significant power to the bargaining process but doing away with it and thereby labor unions is just wrong.
No union is perfect and there are some unions that are probably downright bad but whether or not you ever belong to a union you should support their existence as a counterbalance to the billionaire interests of the world. Unions represent the middle and working-class NOT the wealthy. Let’s face it money talks and behind that a well-organized group with money speaks volumes. We would all like to think we have a voice in what goes on in the country and we do to certain extent with our vote but the poor and working class need an organized voice(with money) more than ever in a society that increasingly and absolutely favors the wealthy.
Posted by Libergirl
TheConfirmationFiles 