Whether you believe that Labor Day was the idea of Peter J. McGuire of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, or of machinist and secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York Matthew Maguire, there is no disagreement that in 1894 the day was institutionalized as a federal holiday.
And ever since, Labor Day has been celebrated as a tribute to American workers and the achievements of their labor unions, including: the reduction of the work-week from the customary 7 days to 5 days; the reduction of the work day from the customary 12 hours to 8 hours; the prohibition against child labor; increased safety in the workplace; the establishment of unemployment insurance; the creation of social security; and the enactment of the minimum wage.
Those watershed benefits were achieved by men like William Sylvis (Iron Molders), Eugene Debs (American Railway Union), Samuel Gompers (Cigar Workers/AFL), John L. Lewis (United Mine Workers/CIO), Walter Reuther (United Automobile Workers), George Meany (AFL-CIO), Cesar Chavez (United Farm Workers). Most of those men and their followers endured bitter public criticism, as well as private and governmental threats to their personal freedom and safety.
Notably, all of them were trade or industrial unionists in the private sector. And their achievements helped create the American middle class and make the United States the most productive nation in the world.
But over the past 30 years private sector trade and industrial union membership has eroded. Despite the vast majority of workers still being employed in the private sector, union membership in that sector has eroded to the point where only 7.2 million of its workers are union members, while 7.6 million public sector employees belong to unions. Union membership in the public sector is reported at 37% of all such employees, 5 times the rate of private sector workers.
Notwithstanding that dramatic rise of public sector union membership, however, none of the society-wide breakthroughs achieved by those earlier union leaders has been produced by their public sector, union-lite counterparts. Instead, public sector union leaders seem content to ride the gravy train derived from both the freedom from market forces that is inherent in most government employment, and from colluding with craven and corrupt politicians to obtain compensation and benefits not available in the uber-competitive private sector. At the same time, the middle class has shrunk substantially.
So on this Labor Day 2012 we remember those trade unionists of the past whose achievements created an economic reality that was good for the entire country. And we echo the cautionary words of pro-labor New York governor Andrew Cuomo:
“I respect the state workers and I respect their unions, but we simply can’t afford to pay benefits and pensions that are out of line with economic reality.”
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11 comments so far
Another non-Labor Day post by an anti-labor blogger.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Nope, just an anti-public sector union blogger.
Thanks for your decent and even-handed tribute to the people who made the middle class possible by insisting that the product of labor be shared with labor. These people died violently in many cases so the current crop of Teabaggers could be healthy and safe enough to bellyache about unions. But the two big reasons union membership has eroded so much is 1) manufacturing work has followed the higher profits caused by unfair labor practices and lower pay, first from the North to the South and then from the US to the Third World, and 2) active, ceaseless, remorseless and heavily funded efforts by big business and some small business wannabe followers to make it as difficult as possible to unionize workplaces. Today’s retail salesperson working on his or her feet on salary 40+ hours with no overtime but for $10/hour, no benefits, is where the bulk of the next generation is going. And how in the name of God can America compete then? Oopsie. But no matter; Mitt and his crew will still pay 14% or less (like Taste, we’ll never know) on gains made by putting fellow Amerikuns out of work and out of health care. So what’s the prob, right?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Let’s see…first you blame “the South” for something besides the Civil War, then you blame the entire “Third World” for its failure to be First or Second World. And when those alibis don’t cover the entire waterfront, it must be “the Teabaggers” fault. Can we assume you buy nothing but American products from nothing but union-staffed businesses in order to do your part to help raise “the bulk of the next generation” out of its dismal $10/hour existence?
I do look for “Made in the USA” and for union labels (hard to find these days, don’t worry, try to avoid buying from companies that have reputations for cruel and not-so-unusual unfair labor practices (yes, especially Stateside)and I never, but never, shop at Wal-Mart.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Merely looking for “Made in the USA” and for “union labels” isn’t good enough for someone as committed to the American worker as you claim to be.
Oh, and let’s not forget tax breaks for sending jobs outside the U.S. And those Oliver Twisty small fry overseas pulling 12-hour days in US-owned companies. And…
tell me again about our pro-family, Christian nation?
EDITOR’S NOTE: We’re against all those non-sensical tax breaks, including those for having children and for mortgage interest. Too bad both the Democraps and the Republican’ts insist on using those to pander to their respective constituencies.
I couldn’t agree with you more on your position regarding public sector employees and unions — although, honestly, if public employees want to strike — fine with me. It’s the arbitration rules that incense me — thanks to Madigan, et al. For your reading pleasure (although the City “won” a majority of the proposals, the taxpayers still lost.)
http://www.state.il.us/ilrb/subsections/pdfs/ArbitrationAwards/Park%20Ridge%20&%20FOP,%20S-MA-10-232.pdf
EDITOR’S NOTE: Your link leads to “Page not found.”
You make an excellent point about how the “dramatic rise of public sector union membership” has not done anything for the middle class. At least one of your commentators wants to blame the “Teabaggers” and “Mitt and his crew,” but it looks to me like the blame should fall on the other guys who are trying to grow the public sector and public sector unions.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We agree, although we hold both political parties in virtually equal contempt but tend to blame the Madiganocrats for most of Illinois’ problems because Madigan’s fingerprints are on every bit of state governance since he became speaker of the house in 1983, except for 1995-97 when Republican Lee Daniels held that position.
What does not do anything for the middle class is paid-for public policy that means the public can’t afford the goods and services that are traditionally integral to the American way of life.
EDITOR’S NOTE: What “paid-for public policy” in Park Ridge local government? Or are you talking about the “paid-for public policy” allegedly purchased by the Koch Bros., George Soros, et al.?
We nevertheless find it interesting that the reported decline of the middle class seems to track the decline of private sector union membership and the sharp increase in public sector union membership.
How about this. Let’s just all agree to give up all those “benefits” that we are due. Have all the teachers give up their pensions and the rest of us agree to give up SS. That way we can just start form scratch!! Anyone in?!?!!?!
The rest of it is just noise. Politicians (including you) pitting people against people. This union is good but these unions are bad!!! The politicians have been shorting their committment to Illinois pensions for over 30 years but let’s blame the Illinois public employees. Funny how it works. The only way you get more for you is by taking mine (or rather theirs)!!
It brings to mind something that makes me laugh on my many trips to Wisconsin. I drive through the countryside and see all the farmers with we support Scott Walker signs proudly displayed in their fields. Ya se they want smaller government and less spending…..that is unless it is farm subsidies!!!
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you can find us one of those not-so-uncommon teachers making $100K after 30 years we’ll gladly trade our Social Security for his/her pension.
The only reason those “politicians” could get away with “shorting their committment to Illinois pensions for over 30 years” is because they were colluding with their friendly neighborhood public employee union leaders – elected by, and with the full support of, the rank-and-file union members – to divert the money from pension contributions to wage increases, knowing full well that the Illinois Constitution will require the pensions to be paid irrespective of whether they are adequately funded.
PD:
All due respect, they also diverted the money to other things, or projects, or out right give aways if you like, that they did not have to have to come to the voter to fund because they could just take the money from here…..see how easy it is!!! It was not just wages.
The best recent example is the CME/Sears hold up to the tune of about $400,000,000
EDITOR’S NOTE: Anon:
All due respect, but just because the Madiganocrat-controlled General Assembly, often aided and abetted in their collusion with public employee unions by compliant Republican governors like Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar and George Ryan, wasted potential pension contribution money on more than just unjustified public employee pay increases, doesn’t mean those public employees don’t bear a substantial share of the responsibility for the underfunding of their pension plans.
As for “the CME/Sears hold up to the tune of about $400,000,000,” paging Gov. Quinn, Speaker Madigan and Pres. Cullerton!
To the previous poster about “strikes”-Teachers can, but fire and police personnel cannot.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, but police and fire get mandatory binding arbitration which can effectively trump the bargaining process.
Instead of blaming others in the 99%, let’s turn our eyes (vision benefits or not) to the 1% from whom our grief actually cometh, shall we? It’s one thing to have to play to win, but when you have a rigged game that pits guys with guns and tanks (Citizens United) against guys with horses and bows & arrows, even Braveheart might have a qualm. It ain’t Quiddich!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ah, yes, the beleaguered and victimized 99% who claim – contrary to every principal of our democratic Republic – to have no real voice in government because those evil 1% geniuses somehow steal a majority of the votes cast for every office from President to park commissioner. Which must mean that whoever is the President, be he Clinton, Bush, or Obama – and whoever is park commisioner, be he/she Biagi, Ryan, or Vile – is merely the tool of that 1%.
No, it ain’t Quiddich…it’s nutty.
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