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By John Jordan |
Time to Protect Unions
One by one, America's great industrial unions are being defanged. Where once presidents of these unions could march into the White House and leave with a pledge by President John F. Kennedy to end a strike on favorable terms, they are now sitting in bankruptcy court watching as unelected judges rip their contracts to shreds - or "negotiating" massive givebacks.
The first union to be broken in this way was the United Steel Workers of America, or USWA. In 2002 and 2003, the global steel industry was in crisis. Every major American steel company was insolvent or nearly so. The union cut the best deals it could for its members. But its overarching goal became working to ensure corporate profitability. For all practical purposes, the once mighty Steel Workers Union is now a management subsidiary.
Next to be broken were airline industry unions. Nearly every large airline has filed for bankruptcy protection. Managers of companies that haven't filed for protection have used the threat of bankruptcy to slash workers' wages and benefits, sometimes by as much as 50%.
Now it's the United Auto Workers' turn to feel the full brunt of 21st century America's definition of labor rights. Delphi, the largest auto parts supplier in the country, just filed for bankruptcy protection. Before it did, management told the UAW it wanted the union's members to swallow wage and benefits cuts of 60%. The UAW rejected this out of hand - as Delphi management knew it would. Now it's up to a bankruptcy court judge to slash Delphi workers' wages, benefits and jobs.
How did we get to the place where labor rights are so unprotected that bankruptcy court judges are the final arbiters of wage, benefits and working conditions in what are still some of our most important industries? There are a number of answers. First are judges who have simply assumed this role. Bankruptcy court judges agreeing with management and tearing up union contracts as a matter of course is a recent innovation.
The second development that has fatally undermined labor rights is a federal government that, regardless of which political party is in power, consistently sides with management in labor disputes.
The final development is a situation that affects nearly every employee - and employer - in the country: America's horribly mismanaged and inefficient health care system. Analysts estimate health care costs add from $1,000 to $1,500 to the price of every automobile produced in the United States. Manufacturers in no other advanced economy face these costs, since health care is funded by their national governments. America's dysfunctional health care system even dissuades investment here. Honda recently decided to build a new North American plant. It chose to build it in Canada. One of its stated reasons: our neighbor to the north's universal health care system.
The protection of labor rights in America has regressed to where this country stood in the 1920s. The result is neutered unions, stagnant wages, shrinking benefits and more insecurity.
There's a growing unease in the country, a sense the American Dream is unattainable to those who lack the right pedigree or the right connections. It's time for government and others to address the roadblocks that prevent everyone from sharing in our economy's gains. A rediscovery of labor rights is a good place to start.
Jordan, a former union organizer and strategist, is President of Washington-based Principor Communications.
© 2005 Principor Communications