Unions matter now, more than ever
By EDWARD SMITH
When I travel across the country, I
often hear from business leaders, politi-
cians and even union members who say
unions don’t matter anymore. They say
there was a time and place for unions
— but that has passed. They cite the
fact that union membership in the U.S.
stands at less than 12 percent. They cite
the Wisconsin recall, the passage of
right-to-work laws in Indiana and the
2012 Democratic National Convention
taking place in Charlotte, N.C., a city
with one of the lowest union member-
ship rates in the country. Unions don’t
count, they say.
They are wrong. Unions matter to-
day more than ever.
If we want to rebuild the American
middle class, we need strong unions.
It’s no coincidence that the decline of
the middle class began with the decline
“The right to join a
union of one’s choice is
unquestioned today,
and is sanctioned and
protected by law.”
in union membership. From one-third
to one-fifth of the growth in inequality
can be explained by the decline of
unions, according to a 2011 study in
the American Sociological Review by
Bruce Western of Harvard University
and Jake Rosenfeld of the University of
Washington.
We see the result of this decline
every day. More Americans are work-
ing in low-wage jobs and are without
health care and the means to save for
retirement.
Union jobs can still offer workers
good salaries, pensions and health care
benefits that give families the economic
security to send kids to college or trade
schools, to invest in their communities
and to have a secure retirement. This is
not some socialist ideal. It is the Amer-
ican dream — and unions have helped
ensure that more Americans have a
chance to live it.
Unions also matter if we want to re-
tool and retrain our workforce for the
global economy. Employers regularly
talk about not being able to find skilled
workers. New union training programs
are a critical component of the answer
to this problem. At their own expense,
unions and union contractors provide
training and apprenticeship programs
that teach the latest construction and
building techniques with a focus on
safety.
This training allows U.S. workers to
compete with anyone in the world.
These union training programs should
be encouraged, and the workers who
graduate should be put back to work re-
building the nation’s infrastructure —
and our economy.
More importantly, unions matter be-
cause who else will speak on behalf of
workers? The U.S. Chamber of Com-
merce speaks for the interests of busi-
ness, and AARP speaks for the inter-
ests of the elderly. But without unions,
who would speak for workers?
If workers are to have a share in our
future prosperity, they need unions to
advance their issues. Otherwise, the
voices of corporations, the rich and the
well-connected will drown out the
voices of average American workers.
For unions to remain strong, we
must remain united at the ballot box.
We must support each other’s causes
and leaders and support the common
interests of organized labor — the right
to collectively bargain for wages and
benefits. Union members must vote in
their self-interest, not against it.
Unions matter. They mattered in the
past; they matter today; and unions
must remain strong if they are to matter
in the future. If unions do not stand
united and do not fight for the needs of
working Americans, then Labor Day is
meaningless. It will be just a day off in
September.
That matters to me — and it should
matter to you.
(Editor’s Note: Edward Smith, a
member of Laborers Local 773, is the
president and chief executive officer of
Ullico Inc., a labor-owned insurance
and investment company. This article
originally appeared in the Label Letter
newsletter of the Union Label & Serv-
ice Trades Department, AFL-CIO.)
Wishing all Union
Members a restful
and hard-earned
Labor Day
Weekend.
IBEW Local 280
32969 Highway 99E, Tangent, OR
541-812-1771
AUGUST 16, 2013
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 19