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Why
Unions
Where
Unions Come From
What
Unions Want
About Strikes
Politics
And Unions
Facing
The Future Q&A
WHY
UNIONS?
Ever walk into your local chain
department store and ask to see the president? Or into you local
telephone office and ask for an appointment with the chairman of the
board?
Or maybe you
are a high school student or one of the millions of college students in
America. How many times have you talked with the principal or the
president of the college or university? For that matter, how many times
have you personally talked to your professor in that large auditorium
packed lecture course. “Humanities 1,” or something similar?
Now suppose you
are out in the world working for a living as an engineer or technician
or administrative and clerical worker in an aerospace, electronics, or
insurance firm. Or in on of the big companies in the basic industries
such as steel, auto retail or food processing. Or as a killed building
trades worker. You need a day off to move to a new home, or to look
after things at home because your spouse is ill. Or maybe you
unexpectedly com down with sickness. Do you call your supervisor or
department head ask for time off? What if the supervisor says “NO?”
What do you do then? Go to the chairman of the board?
Or maybe
you’ve been a loyal, productive worker for the past year or two. You
know the company is doing well and making money. So you want a raise and
figure you’re worth more than you’re earning. Do you ask your boss?
What if the boss says “NO” or offers a few pennies?
WHAT DO YOU DO THEN?
Or assume you’ve been a loyal
dedicated employee for 17 years. You’ve got a husband wife, kids in
high school hoping to go to college, equity in the house and stature in
the community. You are over 40 but retirement is a long way off yet.
Then one day your company is merged with or acquired by another one. New
management moves in and decides you're through. They want younger
employees; it’s new company policy. Or they want more efficient
production and are installing some new automated equipment that
eliminates the need for your job-and you.
What do you do then and who do
you talk to about finding a new job or taking another job in the same
company through job retraining? How are you going to pull up roots in
your community?
In each of these cases, what
can you as an individual do to protect yourself and your livelihood? Who
has the final word if you disagree with your employer’s decision?
Now consider that there are
millions of other wage and salary earners, just like you, working for a
living in organizations or firms that are apt to be very large, fluid
and impersonal.
Some people say you can't fight
city hall or buck the boss. In a democracy, this isn't true. YOU
CAN. And this is what unions are for. To establish industrial
democracy in our private enterprise and corporate-oriented economy. To
represent the individual's interest when the company's interest
conflicts with it or fails, even. to consider it. To represent public or
government employees as they seek to apply industrial democracy to their
jobs and working conditions.
Look
at it this way. Without collective bargaining, the individual employee
has no voice, but is subject to every arbitrary decision the employer
makes. Some minimum legal standards excepted, the employer sets hours of
work, level of wages and salaries, and determines job assignments and
production quotas. When promotions are involved, the boss can reward
favorites and ignore qualified workers of longer service. The employer
can lay off or fire any worker-for any reason or even for no reason. The
boss can manipulate the organization chart and demote or shunt aside.
The employer can, in fact, be a
dictator, answerable to no one. Neither democracy nor human dignity has
any place in this scheme of things.
In a nation, the benevolent
dictator, trying to look out for the best interests of the people, is no
substitute for democratic government. And a paternalistic employer is no
substitute for democratically structured employee organizations and
collective bargaining.
Where there is collective
bargaining in industry, the individual worker has a voice and is not
subject to arbitrary decisions. That worker shares with other employees
and with the employer the responsibility for establishing orderly
procedures for determining wages, hours of work, rates of production,
promotion and layoff policies, and just penalties for the violation of
necessary work rules.
As part of a union, you have
the strength that comes from numbers and, through your union, the
ability to hire able staff people-negotiators, lawyers, research
specialists, and others who are skilled in the arts of collective
bargaining.
Only as part of a group do you
have the economic strength that permits bargaining with the employer on
a basis approaching equality.
You may hot find all the
answers to your job problems by becoming a union member. But you will be
free to present your problems and have them considered. This is the
function of shop and department stewards, grievance committees and
business agents. If you don't like the job they're doing, you have an
opportunity to do something about it. They're not appointed. They're
elected-by you and your fellow employees. The same goes for the other
union officers. They're democratically elected and the members do the
nominating.
The policies and conduct of the
union are determined by its constitution and by-laws and these, too, are
subject to amendment and change by the membership.
More workers are forming or
joining unions. And it is easy to see why. In this day and age of high
speed technological change, multinational corporations and
conglomerates, if we didn't have unions for the people who work in them,
them we'd probably have to invent them.
This is why teachers, fire
fighters, government employees, engineers and technicians, newspaper
reporters, college professors and actors and actresses have formed
unions just as steel workers, rubber workers, construction workers, and
the retail industry have.
But we're getting ahead of
ourselves. Lets go back a minute and see where unions come from.
The trade union is one of our
oldest economic institutions. It is a good deal older than the business
corporation, for example.
WHERE
UNIONS COME FROM
The history of
trade unionism in this country is frequently dated from 1792, when a
local union was formed by the journeymen cordwainers (shoemakers) of
Philadelphia. Within the next ten years, unions of shoemakers,
carpenters and printers were founded in Baltimore, Boston, New York and
several other cities.
Until after the
Civil War, most of these trade unions were located in Atlantic seaboard
cities and were local unions of workers in a particular trade or
industry. These isolated locals sensing the need for greater strength
formed city-wide federations called "trade assemblies" for
mutual aid and support in strikes and emergency situations. They also
functioned as boycott organizations, published newspapers, took
political action and lobbied for local government legislation favorable
to their members. Today these federations have evolved into city central
bodies or state central bodies and their functions are much the same.
But local unions also found it
necessary to join with other locals within the same trade or industry.
These national unions were labor's answer to dealing with employers who
were selling their goods in a national market. Machinist local unions in
New York, for example, worked for iron foundry employers who were
competing with other iron foundries in Cleveland. In this national
competition, the isolated New York local union soon found itself
competing with its counterpart local union in Cleveland and in other
plants of the industry located elsewhere. As the employers competed,
wages, as a cost of production factor, were bid down and the lowest
rates in the industry tended to prevail throughout the country.
So in 1859, the machinist and
blacksmith locals united and formed a permanent national organization.
The molders did the same in 1859 and the printers had formed their
national union in 1850. In the decade after the Civil War, twenty-six
new national unions were formed. Some of them exist today. The
locomotive engineers, the locomotive firemen, carpenters, bricklayers,
and painters all date from this period. The purpose of all these
national unions was the same: to influence waged, working conditions and
work rules more or less uniformly throughout their trade or industry.
The isolated locals thus
learned that by pooling their resources and cooperating with one
another, they could more effectively deal with employers and at the same
time give help and support to locals in distress. They demonstrated once
again that in unity there is strength.
Today, national and
international trade unions (they're called international because they
have members in Canada and U.S. trust territories) are the keystone of
the American labor movement. Just over 100 of them are affiliated with
the AFL-CIO.
So when anyone asks,
"where did trade unions com from?," you might say they came
out of the necessity of the working people to look after their own
interests as businesses and industry organized and developed along
national lines.
Another way to look at it is on
the basis of self-interest as expressed by both labor and management-the
employer and employee. Each promotes his won self-interest. Wherever we
find competing self-interests, we find the possibility of conflict. It
was out of such conflict that the trade union movement was born. And it
was to resolve the issues such conflict produces that collective
bargaining was developed.
One thing about it, 200 years
have brought little change in the issues at stake or the basic need for
unions. The individual member-whether a cordwainer or computer engineer
or programmer, artisan or actor-still has basic economic and social
needs and has to deal with an employer to get most of them. Forming a
union or joining a union makes the job a whole lot easier.
WHAT
UNIONS WANT
Unions
members represent a broad cross section of America. They come from all
walks of life in all parts of the country. They want what any American
wants. Peace, prosperity security
and dignity of the individual. They want these for each and every
American.
There are two ways they go about getting them. One is through collective
bargaining. The other is through political and social action. Let's talk
about them one at a time.
Collective bargaining is a rational, democratic and peaceful way to
resolve conflict. In recent years, some 150,000 collective bargaining
agreements have been made. Only two percent of them were affected by
strikes. So in 98 percent of all cases, collective bargaining was
successful. Not a bad record.
Back around the turn of the century, things were different. There were
not very many unions then, and those that existed had a tough time of
it. Employer resistance to collective bargaining was fierce and many
times violent. There was no National Labor Relations Act then to give
workers the right to organize and promote collective bargaining. But
workers persisted and the fledgling unions survived. Collective
bargaining became the accepted way of regulating employer-employee
disputes.
It
took a lot of nerve for employees to stand up for their rights in those
days. There were no job safety standards, paid vacations, sick leave or
retirement plan. Hiring and firing, promotions and layoff policies were
under the exclusive control of employers.
But
the did it, and today we are enjoying the results. You can't put a price
tag on the human dignity individual workers feel when they stand up for
their rights, either.
It
hasn't changed today. Every time the union-negotiated contract expires,
the members have to assess the situation again. They look at their wages
and compare them with current price levels; look at company profits;
determine if pensions, health and medical care plans are adequate. These
are the quantitative factors that go in to wages and salaries at
collective bargaining time.
There are qualitative factors, too. Things like work rules, work speeds,
occupational safety and health, time off for vacations and holidays, and
promotion policies.
Put
them all together and you have a package of wages, benefits, and work
rules that becomes the subject of contract negotiations. Employers-large
or small-don't just had out this package. The employees have to stick
together, send their elected representatives into the negotiating room
with employers or their representatives, and through a process of fact
finding, discussion, argument and debate, make a agreement on just what
the package will contain. Then the membership has to ratify or reject
it.
We
call it collective bargaining, and it has played a vital part in lifting
the living standards of the American worker to the highest level in the
world.
Think about this next time you hear a company official say, "Hears
what we give our employees." Even if that company doesn't have a
union or the employees hi is talking about aren't part of the union in
the firm, do you really think they would give these wages and benefits
if their were no unions? Maybe. But it isn't likely unless a pattern of
union-won gains is in existence.
But
even then, the employee has no voice in matters affecting the job.
Where's the dignity in that system? Or security?
ABOUT
STRIKES
Unions negotiate for agreements-not strikes. No union wants a strike.
Strikes develop only when both sides labor and management can in no
other way reach an agreement.
To
union members, a strike means sacrifice for them selves and their
families. And they will not vote to go on a strike unless the issues
involved are so great they are worth the sacrifice.
Remember, strikes are not call or ordered by union leaders. They are
voted on by the union membership to take a strike action or not to take
it, and the majority rules.
We've already said 98 percent of all contracts negotiated result in
agreements achieved without a strike. In fact, the work time lost
because of strikes in recent years has been less than three days
for every four work years. The common cold causes more lost time than
strikes.
But
strikes are controversial and controversy makes news. This, no doubt, is
why many people think strikes are the rule rather than the exception.
Management
can trigger a strike simply by refusing to bargain or to yield on a
point of contention. But the union has to take the first overt action
and the strike is the first visible sign of dispute. This probably
accounts for the public blaming unions for strikes in many cases.
But
the right to strike, or the right to with hold one's labor in unison and
agreement with fellow workers is paramount to maintaining democracy. In
totalitarian countries the right to strike is prohibited along with all
other freedoms. Put in proper perspective, then, the the right to strike
is a matter of freedom, and a democracy cannot function without freedom.
POLITICS
AND UNIONS
Collective bargaining is one way to help
achieve peace, prosperity and security, and individual dignity in
America today. The other way is through political action.
Union members learned early in the game that they can lose in the halls
of the legislature what they've gained at the collective bargaining
table. Union security is a good example. Prior to 1947, many unions had
made bargaining agreements with companies and employers that if the
union was going to represent all workers, then all workers should belong
to the union. This seemed reasonable, since unions are legally bound to
represent all employees in the bargaining unit, whether they are union
members, pay dues, attend meetings and participate in the decision
making process or whether they don't.
Then some regressive and reactionary employers banded together and in an
expensive and high powered lobbying campaign began pressing for
legislation in congress to make it possible to outlaw such agreements.
Congress went along and permitted states to enact laws banning such
agreements.
Today, in 20 states, the law allows an individual to benefit from a
union negotiated contract without paying dues or contributing anything
toward maintaining the union or servicing the contract.
That person is a free rider on the backs of fellow employees. And
there's not much dignity is such a distinction.
It
is interesting to note, too, that there is not much prosperity in the
states that have these co-called "right-to-work" laws. In
North Carolina, for example, where few workers are organized, the
average weekly wage of a production worker in manufacturing is about
$175 a week less than in the state of Washington, where nearly half of
the workforce is organized. The difference is $9,100 worth of lost
income per worker per year in North Carolina. Not to mention a lower
standard of living and a less profitable level of economic activity for
merchants and businessmen. We get the same conclusion when we compare
Virginia with West Virginia, in fact, when we compare all the states
that forbid union security agreements with the 30 other states that
permit it.
But
the trade union movement, as a whole, does not operate on the narrow
grounds of self interest. It exists to help those people least able to
help themselves.
It
exists not only to win fair wages and working conditions and employment
security for its members, but to champion the cause of justice and equal
opportunity for those people beset by ignorance, poverty, prejudice and
discrimination.
This means unions have a clear obligation to represent the interests of
a great many people who are not union members.
This is why labor has a lobby. Sometimes it's called the "People's
Lobby," because it pushes for legislation that doesn't benefit
union members directly but helps those who don't have full time personal
representatives in the states capitals and in Washington to look out for
their interests. Labor's record of support for free public education,
for instance, goes all the way back to 1832. And labor was in the
forefront with teachers, church leaders, and university professors to
get federal aid for grade school, high schools and colleges and
universities in the 1960's. Scholarships and loans for poor and needy
students are part of labor's legislative program in education, too.
Then there's the case of minimum wage legislation. Almost all union
members make more than the federal minimum wage. But many people who
aren't union members make less. And a lot more wouldn't be making the
minimum if the law didn't exist. Labor was the first organized group to
fight for a minimum wage, and it continues to press for legislation that
will assure that the minimum wage will not fall behind the level of
inflation or the government's official poverty level. A minimum wage
protected against inflation is the best way to fight poverty and to help
the working poor.
Equal employment opportunities, voting rights, civil rights, workers
compensation, unemployment compensation, and public health programs all
are the result of the "People's Lobby" approach to
legislation.
American unions are wed to no single party; they support liberal and
progressive candidates in all parties. Neither have they tried to form
their own national political party. Union members participate in the
existing parties to make their voices heard and their votes felt when it
comes time to select candidates, write party platforms, and persuade
people to vote for their favored candidates and programs. In the
AFL-CIO, union members do their poetical work through the committee on
Political Education (COPE). Their interest begins at the grass roots
level and their work begins there at the precinct level. It continues up
through the party structure to county conventions, district conventions,
state conventions, and the national conventions. It consists of
registering voters, distributing literature and campaign materials on
issuers and candidates, and getting out the vote on election day.
Participating in politics is 90 percent sweat and 10 percent brain, but
union members know there is no substitute for hard work. No one ever
said making democracy work is easy.
So
unions are in politics for three good reasons: to protect them selves
and the gains they have won through collective bargaining, to promote
justice and equal economic opportunity for all, and to elect public
office holders who believe in both.
FACING
THE FUTURE
If you are now working on a job, or just out of high school or college,
or otherwise active in the labor market then you have a log of job
thinking to do.
Give just a moment of thought to the long history of the trade union
movement in this country and compare the days of the past with the here
and now. Then llok to the future. The big employers aren't getting any
smaller, the rate of change isn't slowing, but it is opening up new
kinds of jobs.
think about the opportunity to join a union - about collective
bargaining - about industrial democracy and peace, prosperity and
security, and individual dignity on the job. It's something to think
about.
Look
towards the future. Join the U.F.C.W. Local 1428
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