Labor Day recalls union influence

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/business/article/0,1426,MCA_440_4964928,00.html

Worker groups revamping to deal with changing workplace
By Rob Robertson
Contact
September 3, 2006
In Memphis, as with much of the rest of the nation, Labor Day means one final chance to enjoy a summer day away from work -- a day to fire up the grills and spend time with friends and family.

While few may bother to consider the origins of the holiday -- born of the domestic labor movement in the late 1800s as a more stoic tribute to the achievements of the America's working class -- Labor Day still stands as a lasting reminder of the powerful influence of labor unions in American history.


"Used to be, union jobs were the way to the middle class for a lot of people," said John Gnuschke, director of the Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Memphis. "Unions helped provide stable employment and a living wage.

"That pathway has largely disappeared, however, as more domestic manufacturing has been moved elsewhere."

Gnuschke said that many of the permanent reforms in the workplace achieved through the work of labor unions eventually made the unions themselves less necessary to future generations of workers.

"Traditional concerns about issues like wages and pensions have been resolved by the actions of government and the actions of employers," he said. "Now that many of the issues unions used to stand for have been addressed to some extent, we've seen a change in the industries where labor unions have gained strength and lost strength."

Membership in U.S. labor unions grew steadily from the early 1900s through the Great Depression and into the post World War II era, peaking in the 1950s.

FULL article at link above.

[INdemo]

1. The union members in most cases have lost their voice

because of the way Unions are structured now..Most members don't vote directly for their leader's. Workers rights,earning power,etc have been compromised by a leadership that has bellied up to employers/corporations..They have allowed corporations to invade pension funds with little resistance if any by union leaders...
So compared to Unions 20 years ago or even 10 years ago,union clout has certainly diminished...

[Omaha Steve]

2. Not really correct one word ENRON!!!

Did you know that NONE of the over 3,000 union employees lost a dime of their protected pensions at ENRON? Did you not notice the organized labor fight against the privatization of Social Security? The list goes on about retirement etc. fights. It just doesn't get covered by the liberal press. :-)

[INdemo]

3. Well that perhaps makes my statement seem baseless but

I'm referring to some construction unions and even some local UAW unions that have lost benefits because the union leaders(in the construction skilled trade unions) or the corporate execs have raided the till.......The UAW is fighting a pending court case that would allow GM to include pension payouts in their bankruptcy case...
Certainly the union protection have saved workers rights and benefits but the union clout has decreased over the years. Unions took a real blow when President Reagan was allowed to get away with firing the Air Controllers without any solidarity from other unions

[Omaha Steve]

4. This part is 100% correct, no denying it

Certainly the union protection have saved workers rights and benefits but the union clout has decreased over the years. Unions took a real blow when President Reagan was allowed to get away with firing the Air Controllers without any solidarity from other unions.