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| Samuel Gompers |
To the political left, Wall Street has become a dirty word(s); to the political right, unions’ has become a dirty word. There was a time when labor unions stood up to protect their members from unfair labor practices. There was a time when labor unions fought to improve the living wages of their members. There was a time when labor unions were looked upon favorably and people would go around singing, “Look for the union label.” But a metamorphosis has taken place among the leadership in most unions; a change that has seen most unions over-reach the vision, objectives and demands originally established by Samuel Gompers in 1886.
It is a statistical fact that labor unions have been steadily losing members. The exact reason is not clear but the union ranks have steadily declined. In the same token, union gains in wages, benefits, and job security over the years is now contributing to their declining ranks. It is becoming abundantly obvious that burgeoning costs attributed directly to union activity and successes is starting to work against them. Over the years, The United Auto Workers Union forced the automobile industry to accept unsustainable legacy costs that cover life time benefits, pensions and job security and those concessions by management pushed General Motors and Chrysler into eventual bankruptcy.
Similar burdensome legacy costs have bankrupted numerous airlines, railroads and steel mills. Excessive union negotiated contracts is pushing the U.S. Postal Service in the same direction; and we saw last summer how various States are having to take on the unions because pension and benefit payments can no longer be met. This same fate is befalling numerous cities and municipalities where several have already filed for bankruptcy protection. And if that were not enough, these same activities are taking place around the world. Recently, union strikes forced Australia’s Quantas Airlines to ground its entire fleet due to union practices. How many millions of travelers do you think that inconvenienced and how many millions of dollars were lost? But the unions persist.
The simple fact is that union successes have become union excesses and it is not only causing financial distress in the private and public sectors it is causing the loss of millions of jobs, including union jobs. Somewhere the Vision and Mission Statements of organized labor has gone askew.
Look at what happened in Seattle Washington with the Boeing Corporation. Labor disruptions and excessive demands forced Boeing to build a new manufacturing facility in South Carolina, which happens to be a “right to work” state. So through union influence and millions of dollars of campaign contributions to the Obama administration, the union persuaded the Obama Justice Department to sue Boeing to stop its expansion plans in South Carolina. Apparently, work stoppages and strikes are no longer the method of choice for the union leadership.
Unions are also being more aggressive towards non-union workers by pushing very hard for card-check legislation that would force union elections to be open and intimidating. Union action is now taking to the streets of U.S. cities with their organized “Occupy Wall Street” movement which is effectively disrupting free commerce and costing cities millions of dollars. Behind the scenes, the unions are also pushing civil unrest and in some instances violence. Just this week alone, we saw the City of Oakland, California erupt into massive scenes of civil disobedience and this is causing businesses to close and people to lose jobs; the very people this movement is supposedly trying to protect.
Despite the fact that unions have already caused undue harm they continue to aggressively push their agenda globally. It was former SEIU union president Andy Stern who urged, “Unions of the world unite.” But unite to what end; the further destruction of everything they fought to attain for their members? It is no wonder that their rank and file is declining. When you see the actions of a super liberal Governor like Jerry Brown of California concede he needs to take on the unions in order to save the State of California from financial ruin, you know that something serious is taking place.
So, I am back to my original question: Are labor unions still an effective check and balance over unscrupulous public and private sector employers who are looking to take unfair advantage of their work force; or is organized labor out of touch with the realities of 21st century public and private sector manpower needs and their ability to financially meet those needs? Has the union charter to collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions for its members given way to a global push for redistribution of wealth, social justice and a new world order? Is the method of achieving their ends no longer the result of strikes and work stoppages; but a transition to rebellion and revolution?
As activist Saul Alinsky wrote in his Rules for Radicals, “The issue is never the issue. The issue is always revolution. The goal is to mobilize the poor and oppressed as a battering ram to bring the system down.” It was AFL/CIO President Richard Trumka who said, “I didn’t get into labor unions to negotiate wages; I got in to do massive social change.” Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa said, “President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these sons of bitches out.”
President Obama has been openly and aggressively supportive of the labor unions and the union leadership has contributed millions of dollars to support his social agenda. Obama has not minced words stating that he supports wealth redistribution and social justice and this cozy relationship between Obama and his radical army (a/k/a organized labor) is no coincidence. Their collective efforts to reach their common objective is becoming clearer with each strike, Justice Department lawsuit and Occupy Wall Street type demonstration.
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