Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO Chief, Reflects On Unions' Thinning Ranks, Calls For New Strategies

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Huffington Post

Dave Jamieson

Just as the percentage of Americans belonging to a union has fallen to a historic low, the leader of the largest labor federation in the country on Thursday offered a blunt assessment of organized labor's thinning ranks, arguing that unions need to look to new models for organizing workers and put a renewed focus on young people.

"We must open up union membership and make the benefits of representation available to all workers," said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, speaking at a University of Illinois event in Chicago. "We need to create new models of worker representation. We need to be more strategic and forward-looking. And we need to face this challenge collectively."

It's a message that the AFL-CIO will amplify in the coming months leading up to its September convention, as part of a broader conversation on the weakened state of organized labor in America. Although the rate of union membership has been falling for decades, it dropped by more than usual in 2012, down to 11.3 percent among the entire workforce and 6.6 percent among the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The stark numbers are due, in part, to both global economics and public policy. The workforce for traditionally unionized industries like manufacturing has been shrinking for years, paired with the growth of service-sector jobs where unions historically have had little presence. More recently, states like Wisconsin and Michigan have enacted legislation aimed at further limiting unions' strength, forcing groups like the AFL-CIO to wage costly state-level political battles.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/richard-trumka-afl-cio-speech_n_2828671.html?utm_source=Alert-blogger&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email%2BNotifications

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AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka reflected Thursday on the state of organized labor in the U.S., and its future. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

[WI_DEM]

1. Republcians have been very successful in breaking unions

and pitting unions against other workers.

[mac56]

2. United, we negotiate. Individually, we beg.

[Autumn]

3. Maybe Labor needs to organize a future in politics.

Become a strong voting block. I am amazed that a few people that I know in Unions vote republican.

[xtraxritical]

4. Start to organize and they shut down and move to third world.

How can you fight that?

[leftyohiolib]

5. sacrifice and doing wothout - stop buying everything you can

[pampango]

8. Unions are strong in Europe and they trade with the third world more than we do.

Strong unions can be promoted by strong pro-union legislation as exists in Europe.

In the US union jobs are more in danger of being moved to right-to-work states than overseas. Progressive countries with strong unions don't have right-to-work laws, of course.

[xtraxritical]

10. Europeans are much more progressive than we are and they don't have a Tparty.

Also, the Socialist Party is considered mainstream in European countries.

[pampango]

11. Actually, most European countries do have a version of the tea party, but

you are right their countries are much more progressive in general and protect/promote their unions.

France has their right-wing National Front which promotes tariffs and more limits on immigration. The National Front lost to the Socialists who are not anti-immigrant and in favor of trade. The UK has its far-right UKIP which wants the UK to withdraw from the EU so that it can limit immigration from Europe and put tariffs on goods from Europe. Other countries have similar right-wing parties though they are fairly small in most countries.

[Starry Messenger]

12. Organize down the supply chain.

Tire makers need to meet with the rubber planters, etc. Control the whole process.

[Xolodno]

6. They should go after "white collar jobs"...

...way back when I was an Intern at a company, the "Account Managers" got so fed up with long hours, cut backs on commission, etc. THEY got together and contacted a union. The company flipped out so much (worried that this could spread elsewhere) that not only did they role back the cuts, they increased the commission, base pay, etc. provided they did not unionize. Of course, they accepted it and union really didn't try that hard to convince them in the long run they would be better (it was almost as if the union didn't know what to do with salaried workers).

There are unhappy "management employee's"...who feel like they are getting stiffed with health insurance increases, worsening of benefits, measly bonus checks getting smaller (which they count on as part of their salary) due to ridiculous growth demands that can't be meant. While "contracted" upper management gets fatter.

Just a thought...

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

7. In my opinion

the walls between labor organizations need to be removed (one union memember is as important as the other, no matter the work) and they (unions) need to band together financially, hire the best PR firm money can buy to counter the messages being put out there on how union workers are greedy and lazy...........

[99th_Monkey]

9. Labor movement in US took a wrong turn around 1900

Away from Worker-ownership motif, to collective bargaining <-- big mistake,
as it turns out, whoever "OWNS" the business calls the shots, and at the end
of the day, can outsource to their greedy hearts' delight, and/or close marginally
profitable businesses at a whim, destroying whole communities in the process.

Doubters about having the "monkeys run the zoo" need to check out the
Mondragon phenomenon in the Basque region of Spain. Worker-ownership works
for the workers, and their communities in a way that conventionally owned
businesses simply are not wired to do. It works, and it's not rocket science.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragón

Hell, we even have a not-for-profit national association already up and running,
to provide technical assistance for start-ups and/or worker-buyouts of privately
owned businesses. http://www.nceo.org/

[Proletariatprincess]

13. If you work for a living, you should belong to a union....

It is time to disassociate union membership from employers. Make unions universal for all working class people....like AARP but without a profit motive. Employed or unemployed, unions should be a part of making life better for working families. Dues should be very minimal....$10 a year universal membership. No employer should be allowed to interfere with anyone's right to join a union.
We need serious Labor Law Reform, but first we need to get all workers on board to form One Big Union. A Labor Party. That is most of us, afterall. Why shouldn't we join with others to make life better for the vast 99%majority over the elite 1%minority. From there we can begin to organize worker owned factories and cooperatives.