B73-DES37
The Future Of Organized Labor
Copyright © by Dan Schneider,
10/22/02
In my working
life I have belonged to 4 unions: 8 years as a member of the UFCW (United Food
& Commercial Workers) when I worked at Finast Supermarkets, 3½ years as a
Teamster working for Ste. Marie’s Gopher News, 5½ years in CWA
(Communications Workers of America) while employed by AT&T, & currently
a member of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, & Municipal
Employees) while employed by Hennepin County, Minnesota. I have had many other
jobs in non-union environments, & can honestly say that working union is far
superior: better pay, better benefits, & more security. But being in a
public sector union trumps even private union employment.
The basic reason is that private sector labor unions are in serious
decline. The UFCW is probably in the strongest position of the 3 private sector
unions mentioned, but it faces erosion from non-union Big-Box retailers:
Wal-Mart, Kmart. Target, Best Buy, Office Depot, Home Depot, etc. The Teamsters
face decline from their own long history of corruption. Internal dissension
racks the union & non-union carriers slowly gain larger shares of the
shipping market. The CWA is in a very perilous position. Decades of security
under the AT&T monopoly ill-prepared their leadership for dealing with the
modern marketplace. The CWA is always reactive, rather than proactive, in its
strategies.
But, public
sector unions are probably as strong as they’ve ever been in this nation’s
history. The prime reason, I believe, is that public service is about
accomplishing a task, rather than making a buck. This singular focus fits far
more naturally in to the mindset of unionism. After all, a union literally is
the coming together of many as 1. Too often, in the private sector, where
workers are set relentlessly against 1 another, young people are often quick to
badmouth their unions. They see ‘the union’ as something separate from
themselves, an entity that alone must protect & provide. The truth is,
whether private or public sector, that the foundation of any union is ‘you’.
Involvement, even if it just being generally aware of the issues & your
rights as a worker & citizen, are key to keeping unions strong.
Yes, there
are unions with histories of abuse, violence, & corruption: the United Mine
Workers, Teamsters, Longshoreman, & Wobblies spring to mind. But most of
these abuses, as awful as they were, came in response to, & were never as
massive, as the tactics employed against them by corrupt businesses. Even at its
post-World War 2 zenith, Big Labor’s power & influence in this country
never surpassed about 1/10 that of Big Business. The biggest problem facing all
unions is that of Vision & Leadership. Incompetence & small-mindedness
are far more deleterious than out & out corruption. Too often unions are
merely trying to hold on to meager gains, rather than broadening their
philosophy into an increasingly hostile work future- codeword: ‘the Global
Economy’.
To combat
complacency, & to keep aware, I urge all unionized workers to do some online
research in to the history of Organized Labor- both nationally & globally.
Only with knowledge at the ready can the wheel of justice keep turning, &
the blade of action stay sharp. I will detail more of the history of Organized
Labor in the future, but for now remember that all workers owe Unionism a debt.
Don’t think so? Well, you can go work a back-breaking job for 12 hour shifts,
6 days a week, for 50¢ an hour, with no breaks, vacations, grievance process,
sick days, retirement plans, medical benefits, nor disability.
See? So, when
next you think about your union, remember the most important part of it is
always u.
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