Saving Labor Unions

     There is no doubt that the economy has been the most explosive topic for citizens and politicians here in America for the past couple of years.  Opinions differ on whether it is getting worse or better but there is one thing we can’t deny, the bad economy has affected all of us in one way or another and large amounts of Americans are worse off financially than they have ever been before.  Perhaps it was the over-inflated real estate market or the unethical discretions of some of the decision makers on Wall Street that led us in this seemingly inevitable direction.  The causes can be debated and we can be sure that the blame game will continue, but the fact is, we are where we are.  So, what do we do next?  Well, one issue that has come to the forefront of this blame game and has become a popular scapegoat in local government is the public sector labor unions.  Recently, there have been an increasing number of cities across America who are coming forward to raise concerns over labor unions and the large costs that they burden these cities with.  One of the main costs that these labor unions have incurred is their pensions, which were legally negotiated with and agreed upon by city officials.  In some cities they are projecting that these pensions will take up to 50 percent of their budget in future years.  It appears as if some of these cities, and more specifically the local politicians, are not only looking at solutions to cut costs but to abolish these labor unions all together.  Some politicians are hesitant to make such bold statements as to ask for the complete abolishment of these unions.  Instead they are going about it in a sneaky way by trying to take away their collective bargaining rights, which they know would cripple the unions and all but dissolve them.  These particular politicians have managed to get a significant number of American popular opinions to back them.  Perhaps people have just forgotten the benefits that unions have forged over the years, not just for their members but for all workers here in America.  Or, maybe it’s just that they don’t care and think it won’t affect them.  Whatever the reason, I contend that the abolishment of public sector labor unions would hurt the average American worker as we move out of this economic recession and into the future.

     Labor unions have a long and storied history here in America.  It has most certainly been a ride with its share of contentious incidents.  Labor unions had a controversial birth.  During colonial times in North America, there was often no prevailing moral ideology among certain workers and unions were far from respectable.  They had a reputation for being anti-social and even criminal.  Some unions were forms of secret societies that engaged in intimidation and violence, even against uncooperative workers.  Despite this, they were able to secure advancements for the American worker that we are still enjoying today.  People have sacrificed their financial security, family, friends and at times even their lives for the advancement of labor unions.  Conceding that the true beginning of labor unions was long before our parents were even born and would make for an interesting discussion, I will be focusing on the modern era of labor unions, and more specifically public sector labor unions.  I would also like to disclose that I am a current member of a public sector labor union and will attempt to be fair in my arguments.  One of the factors that helped to propel public sector unions was President John F. Kennedy’s executive order 10988 that was signed in January 1962.  It promoted unionism in the federal bureaucracy by declaring that “the efficient administration of the government and the well-being of employees require that orderly and constructive relationships be maintained between employee organizations and management” (Reynolds, 2009).  The original purpose of labor unions was to organize workers to achieve common goals to benefit the workers.  Some of these common goals included such issues as wage equality, antidiscrimination, workplace safety, procedures for hiring and firing of employees, and even the 8 hour workday.  In spite of these advancements that unions have accomplished over the years, membership has markedly decreased over the last 3 decades.  To get a better idea of the scope of labor unions in America right now, I have compiled a few statistics from the United States Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics).  In 2010, the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union was 11.9 %, down from 12.3% in 2009.  Union membership rate for public sector workers was 36.2% versus private sector workers which was 6.9%.  Workers in education, training, and library occupations had the highest unionization rate at 37.1%.  The demographic characteristics of union members were interesting.  There are 12.6% men versus 11.1% women.  Also, minorities make up a large percentage of unions.  The white membership was at 11.7%, meaning that 88.3% was made up of a mixture of a number of minorities (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011).

     One of the most recent and visible events that has brought this issue to the forefront is the battle going on in the state of Wisconsin.  It has been hard to miss it on any of the major news networks.  The public demonstrations have been mighty and the rhetoric coming from both sides has been piercing.  Wisconsin, like several U.S. states, is facing a major shortfall in their next two-year budget.  I believe the amount is somewhere near an estimated $3.6 billion dollars.  The intention of this paper is not to start another unending back and forth political debate or to point the finger at any particular political party.  However, it should be noted that the issue in Wisconsin has become a partisan problem between Democrats and Republicans.  The bill at issue is being pushed through by Wisconsin’s Republican Governor, Scott Walker.  According to Todd Richmond of the Associated Press, the essence of this bill is that “the law would force public employees to pay more for their healthcare and pension benefits, which amounts to an 8% pay cut.  It would also eliminate their ability to collectively bargain anything except wage increases no higher than inflation” (Richmond, 2011).  Recent developments have ensured that this bill is on hold for at least a couple of months.  A judge in Wisconsin will be considering whether the Republicans passed this bill into law illegally.  In the meantime, the rhetoric will continue and there is no doubt that each side will be planning their next move.

     The fight between the anti-union faction and the pro-union supporters is very volatile.  Tactics on both sides have been fierce and at times, border on unethical.  With the explosion of media outlets here in America, the anti-union proponents are masterfully trying to gain the upper hand by targeting the emotion of the general public during these hard economic times.  Nelson Lichtenstein tells us that the Center for Union Facts, which is a well-financed anti-union public relations operation, puts out videos denouncing union officials by using explosive words such as greed, corruption, deception, intimidation, and mismanagement (Lichtenstein, 2010). These words are hard to swallow for Americans that are battling just to pay their bills every month.  The anti-union faction really doesn’t care if they are true or not.  They know that just the use of these striking words will turn the struggling American worker against the idea of unions, even without having the full truth about the issues.  This is unethical.  The truth is that labor unions “are now highly regulated institutions, far more so than almost any other voluntary institution in American society” (Lichtenstein, p. B9).  In addition to being unethical, it may just be illegal to swipe the bargaining rights away from these unions.  There will be many court battles in the near future, beginning with the one in Wisconsin, and all of America is watching.  Like I mentioned before, I really want to stay away from any political debates but it appears more and more as if there is possibly an underlying reason for this union battle that has taken shape, and it is political.  Republicans would like to do away with these unions and Democrats are doing their best to save them.  It is no secret that public sector unions have been long time supporters of the Democratic Party and have contributed millions of dollars to their campaign funds.  Is it possible that the clever Republicans are using this unfortunate economic climate to turn the average American workers against each other in order to squash a key support structure for the rival political party?  It is very much possible and I believe that is what is happening before our eyes.  Beyond that, Hector Sanchez points out that, if public sector labor unions are allowed to dissolve, we will be in danger of losing some protections that we have long taken for granted.  Minimum wage, paid sick leave, social security, medicare, retirement funds, paid vacation time, and child labor laws are all protections that workers in the labor movement helped secure for millions of Americans.  “Labor unions are central to having a healthy middle class…they strengthen the economy, our tax base and help build the middle class by helping workers secure higher incomes, critical benefits and workplace protections” (Sanchez, 2011). A good portion of these public workers are teachers, police officers, firefighters, librarians, social workers and road repair technicians.  I would venture to say that most of these careers are not entered into by individuals to get rich.  It is because they have a strong desire to help a segment of our communities in a positive outlet.

     Nobody is arguing that America is not in a budget crisis, the likes of which it hasn’t seen in a long, long time.  This recession has hit local government harder than anyone and there will be some tough decisions that have to be made.  Immediately rushing to strip public sector labor unions of their collective bargaining rights is unfair and will hurt the average American worker in the future.  Although I am a member of a public sector union, I am not opposed to changes that need to take place in order to accommodate budgets.  If it turns out that the courts are not able to stop the politicians from taking away the collective bargaining rights of these unions, then victory or defeat may lay in the hands of the American people and greater public opinion.  With emotion and desperation running high in these toughest of times, it is important to take a step back and really analyze all of the options and potential consequences.  I can only hope that the American public, specifically the private sector, realize that the dissolution of public sector labor unions will come to affect them too.  It may not be apparent at face value and in the immediate foreseeable future but it will end up affecting them down the line.  The average American worker is the one who should be wary.  It may be the children of your children that feel it when they try to enter the workforce and a huge wage disparity has slowly evolved again because of the absence of labor unions, someone on the front lines to fight for fairness and equality in the workplace.  Once the labor unions disintegrate, they will not be coming back unless working conditions get so bad that they are unbearable.  Why would we even want to risk that?  Hopefully we won’t have to.

                                                                    References

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2011, January 21). Union members summary [Economic News Release]. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from United States Department of Labor website: http://www.bls.gov/.release/‌union2.nr0.htm

Lichtenstein, N. (2010, January 22). Misunderstanding the anti-union narrative. Chronicle of higher education, 56(19), b8-b10. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/‌login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=s8856897&db=aph&AN=47894025&site=ehost-live

Reynolds, M. (2009, July 17). A history of labor unions from colonial times to 2009 [Web Article]. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from Mises.org website: http://mises.org//‌#part4

Richmond, T. (2011, April 1). Wisconsin union rights law on hold for 2 months [Associated Press Article]. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from Yahoo.com website: http://news.yahoo.com/‌s//_wisconsin_budget_unions

Sanchez, H. (2011, March 18). Warning: If they take wisconsin, they might go after our weekends [Editorial]. The huffington post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/e-sanchez/if-they-take-wisc_b_837757.html