It’s been interesting to watch the presidential stump
speeches to blue-collar audiences. President Trump is bragging about jobs.
Former Vice President Biden is promising to create union jobs. It’s an important distinction because in 2016 about
half of private-sector union members broke with their Democrat leadership and
voted for Trump. The Dems want those voters back.
Democrats are
pro-union and Republicans are mostly anti-union, but neither party has proposed
an agenda that’s fully pro-worker. We need one.
Whenever I see the Labor Day mantra of what unions have
accomplished — the 40-hour week, child labor laws, etc. — I wonder what
unions have done for workers in this century.
American unions are an artifact of the mid-20th Century because that’s when
most of our labor laws were written.
Unions have been in decline for decades, mostly in the private sector. Only 6% of private-sector employees now belong to a union vs. 34% of government workers. At this point union influence is mostly political rather than economic. Unions are a major source of contributions to the Democratic party, and public employee unions have made big government its own special-interest lobby.
Private-sector unions have lost members for a variety of reasons: migration of manufacturing jobs, a growing service sector and less interest in unions by younger workers. This is in spite of government policies, even in Republican administrations, to prop them up. It takes only 30% of employees to launch a federally supervised union organizing campaign and election. Employers must share employees’ addresses so that union organizers can contact them at home. (Nice family you’ve got there. Sign this petition.)
Some states have right-to-work laws that allow workers to
opt out of unions, but many state governments require employees to join the
union as a condition of employment. States and cities often subsidize unions by
requiring union labor for government construction projects.
Labor law allows employers to oppose union organizing and
they do. They can, and should, conduct employee-information campaigns to
counter union organizing so long as they do not violate labor laws in the
process. Some smart employers have remained non-union by treating employees
decently and offering competitive wages and benefits. Union organizing
campaigns are successful about half the time, and companies whose employees
vote to unionize in a secret-ballot election deserve what they get.
Employees are not necessarily better off in a union. A
captive membership gives unions little incentive to be accountable to workers.
Some unions operate like third-world countries and a few even have hereditary
leaders. Rank-and-file union members have no voice in the union’s affairs or the
political contributions supported by their dues. Every year, about a dozen
union officials are convicted of stealing money from their members. If
employees don’t like their union it’s nearly impossible for them to decertify
it, so they’re stuck.
Company-by-company union bargaining gives employers an incentive to move to right-to-work states or outsource jobs overseas to curb labor costs for competitive advantage, instead of investing in productivity (which drives higher wages). That’s not good for workers, either.
Public employee unions, on the other hand, have too much
power because they own the politicians who are supposed to represent taxpayers.
Roughly half of U.S. union members now work for the government. The unchecked
power of their unions has driven some cities and states into insolvency, and
has been a barrier to education and police reform. One solution may be to apply
the federal model — in which wages and benefits are set by statute instead of
collective bargaining — to state and local government.
So the challenge is to restore the labor movement’s purpose
and balance by empowering workers in the private sector and empowering
taxpayers in the public sector.
I believe workers, and
the economy, will be better off with robust private-sector unions and a balance
of power between labor and management. I spent much of my career in
employee and labor communications at Illinois Bell and Western Electric. Even
though union negotiations sometimes resulted in strikes (I’ve been through half
a dozen of them) the outcome usually was a win for both employees and
management. The partnership of unions and management enabled the company to attract
a highly qualified and intensely loyal workforce.
Democrats are promising to make the AFL-CIO great again by doubling down on government coercion: ending right-to-work laws and secret-ballot union elections. This will result in more captive union members and give employers even more incentive to outsource jobs. Republicans focus on growing the economy by giving employers more flexibility. While this has been successful in creating jobs and reducing unemployment, it has not changed the balance of power between workers and employers.
What would a
pro-worker labor policy look like?
Start by giving rank-and-file union members the same power
as stockholders in a corporation: the right to elect their national leaders, and
to approve leaders’ pay packages and political contributions. Retain
right-to-work laws to allow employees to opt out of union membership and incent
unions to compete for members.
Require unions to hold a recertification vote every 8-10
years. Most unions have been in place for decades: At some companies no living
employee voted for the union. A decertification vote to kick the union out will
make employers unhappy, too, because it opens the door for a tougher union to come
in and organize.
If unions are forced
to be accountable to their members, perhaps they will become organizations
workers are willing to join voluntarily — and government coercion won’t be
necessary to sustain union membership.
Consider replacing individual-company labor negotiations
with sector bargaining for multiple employers and unions in specific
industries, a little like the railroad industry operates. This would give
government a bigger role (sorry, Libertarians) but would remove the incentive
for employers to avoid unionization for competitive advantage. Sector
bargaining could balance the power of labor and management and make
union-management relations less adversarial.
Give employees a role in corporate governance through
employee stock ownership plans and encourage employee-owned businesses.
Consider European-style works councils.
Get unions involved in worker training and retraining.
Government training programs have been a dismal failure and unions certainly
can do a better job. Imagine a government-subsidized union initiative to train
inner-city youth for jobs in manufacturing and construction.
Figure out how to safeguard worker rights in the gig economy. Democratic proposals to transform Uber drivers and freelancers into full-time employees and dragoon them into unions would eliminate the flexibility and freedom these workers value, and ultimately could kill the gig economy. However, I once joined a freelance writers’ union (oxymoronic as that sounds) because it offered a group medical plan. There’s an opportunity for unions to offer services and representation that will be of value to gig workers if they get away from the 20th-Century industrial model.
Oh, and nominate somebody like Mike Rowe for Secretary of Labor.
Neither party has advanced proposals like this (sorry, Mike). But some experts are beginning to study the possibilities and float policy ideas. We won’t hear about labor reform in the 2020 campaign, but maybe someday.
Pro-union or pro-worker?
It’s been interesting to watch the presidential stump speeches to blue-collar audiences. President Trump is bragging about jobs. Former Vice President Biden is promising to create union jobs. It’s an important distinction because in 2016 about half of private-sector union members broke with their Democrat leadership and voted for Trump. The Dems want those voters back.
Democrats are pro-union and Republicans are mostly anti-union, but neither party has proposed an agenda that’s fully pro-worker. We need one.
Whenever I see the Labor Day mantra of what unions have accomplished — the 40-hour week, child labor laws, etc. — I wonder what unions have done for workers in this century. American unions are an artifact of the mid-20th Century because that’s when most of our labor laws were written.
Unions have been in decline for decades, mostly in the private sector. Only 6% of private-sector employees now belong to a union vs. 34% of government workers. At this point union influence is mostly political rather than economic. Unions are a major source of contributions to the Democratic party, and public employee unions have made big government its own special-interest lobby.
Private-sector unions have lost members for a variety of reasons: migration of manufacturing jobs, a growing service sector and less interest in unions by younger workers. This is in spite of government policies, even in Republican administrations, to prop them up. It takes only 30% of employees to launch a federally supervised union organizing campaign and election. Employers must share employees’ addresses so that union organizers can contact them at home. (Nice family you’ve got there. Sign this petition.)
Some states have right-to-work laws that allow workers to opt out of unions, but many state governments require employees to join the union as a condition of employment. States and cities often subsidize unions by requiring union labor for government construction projects.
Labor law allows employers to oppose union organizing and they do. They can, and should, conduct employee-information campaigns to counter union organizing so long as they do not violate labor laws in the process. Some smart employers have remained non-union by treating employees decently and offering competitive wages and benefits. Union organizing campaigns are successful about half the time, and companies whose employees vote to unionize in a secret-ballot election deserve what they get.
Employees are not necessarily better off in a union. A captive membership gives unions little incentive to be accountable to workers. Some unions operate like third-world countries and a few even have hereditary leaders. Rank-and-file union members have no voice in the union’s affairs or the political contributions supported by their dues. Every year, about a dozen union officials are convicted of stealing money from their members. If employees don’t like their union it’s nearly impossible for them to decertify it, so they’re stuck.
Company-by-company union bargaining gives employers an incentive to move to right-to-work states or outsource jobs overseas to curb labor costs for competitive advantage, instead of investing in productivity (which drives higher wages). That’s not good for workers, either.
Public employee unions, on the other hand, have too much power because they own the politicians who are supposed to represent taxpayers. Roughly half of U.S. union members now work for the government. The unchecked power of their unions has driven some cities and states into insolvency, and has been a barrier to education and police reform. One solution may be to apply the federal model — in which wages and benefits are set by statute instead of collective bargaining — to state and local government.
So the challenge is to restore the labor movement’s purpose and balance by empowering workers in the private sector and empowering taxpayers in the public sector.
I believe workers, and the economy, will be better off with robust private-sector unions and a balance of power between labor and management. I spent much of my career in employee and labor communications at Illinois Bell and Western Electric. Even though union negotiations sometimes resulted in strikes (I’ve been through half a dozen of them) the outcome usually was a win for both employees and management. The partnership of unions and management enabled the company to attract a highly qualified and intensely loyal workforce.
Democrats are promising to make the AFL-CIO great again by doubling down on government coercion: ending right-to-work laws and secret-ballot union elections. This will result in more captive union members and give employers even more incentive to outsource jobs. Republicans focus on growing the economy by giving employers more flexibility. While this has been successful in creating jobs and reducing unemployment, it has not changed the balance of power between workers and employers.
What would a pro-worker labor policy look like?
Start by giving rank-and-file union members the same power as stockholders in a corporation: the right to elect their national leaders, and to approve leaders’ pay packages and political contributions. Retain right-to-work laws to allow employees to opt out of union membership and incent unions to compete for members.
Require unions to hold a recertification vote every 8-10 years. Most unions have been in place for decades: At some companies no living employee voted for the union. A decertification vote to kick the union out will make employers unhappy, too, because it opens the door for a tougher union to come in and organize.
If unions are forced to be accountable to their members, perhaps they will become organizations workers are willing to join voluntarily — and government coercion won’t be necessary to sustain union membership.
Consider replacing individual-company labor negotiations with sector bargaining for multiple employers and unions in specific industries, a little like the railroad industry operates. This would give government a bigger role (sorry, Libertarians) but would remove the incentive for employers to avoid unionization for competitive advantage. Sector bargaining could balance the power of labor and management and make union-management relations less adversarial.
Give employees a role in corporate governance through employee stock ownership plans and encourage employee-owned businesses. Consider European-style works councils.
Get unions involved in worker training and retraining. Government training programs have been a dismal failure and unions certainly can do a better job. Imagine a government-subsidized union initiative to train inner-city youth for jobs in manufacturing and construction.
Figure out how to safeguard worker rights in the gig economy. Democratic proposals to transform Uber drivers and freelancers into full-time employees and dragoon them into unions would eliminate the flexibility and freedom these workers value, and ultimately could kill the gig economy. However, I once joined a freelance writers’ union (oxymoronic as that sounds) because it offered a group medical plan. There’s an opportunity for unions to offer services and representation that will be of value to gig workers if they get away from the 20th-Century industrial model.
Oh, and nominate somebody like Mike Rowe for Secretary of Labor.
Neither party has advanced proposals like this (sorry, Mike). But some experts are beginning to study the possibilities and float policy ideas. We won’t hear about labor reform in the 2020 campaign, but maybe someday.
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