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DC Forum Focuses on Labor Movement Progress June 28, 2004 Theres more at stake in a declining labor movement than less clout and bargaining power, attendees to a forum on restoring the freedom to form unions heard on Friday, June 25th in Washington, D.C. The survival of the middle class and the cause of human rights are tied as closely to the existence of trade unions as solidarity and Labor Day. The forum was sponsored by the Center for American Progress, a progressive research and educational institute in the nations capitol. The Center is chaired by John Podesta, former chief of staff to President William J. Clinton. American Rights at Work, a new non-profit organization chaired by former Congressman David E. Bonior (D.Mich.), co-sponsored the event. An audience of over 200 included news media, union staffers and representatives of other progressive organizations. Harley Shaiken, a professor at University of California, Berkeley, who specializes on issues of work, technology and global production, referred to polls that show that over 50 percent of Americans would prefer to have a union at work. But, says Shaiken, only 12.9 percent of workers are currently in unions. The difference, he claims, is ample evidence of a "democracy deficit" in America. "A culture of intimidation," Shaiken said, prevents workers from banding together to gain dignity on the job. The democracy deficit matters because unions have been at the forefront of fighting for workplace safety, social security and other programs that improve conditions for all workers. "Inequality rises as union density falls," he said. Shaiken, an economist, described the "union threat effect," that pushes nonunion employers to raise wages and benefits to convince workers not to join unions. He said that as the percentage of union members in the nation is reduced, the threat effect diminishes, thus lowering the standard of living of the entire nation. The result of roadblocks to union organizing is that "the threat now comes from Wal-Mart, a lowering of wages and benefits that courses through society." Shaiken said that the process of de-unionization destroys the productive relationships between employers and unions that have led to increased productivity that creates "more demand, more jobs and higher economic standards." An overabundance of corporate greed has led to an attack on the middle class, with workers making less while corporations earn more. Working families are getting squeezed, said Congressman George Miller (D-California), by rising housing and health care costs. "But if youre not a unionized worker, youre not just getting squeezed, youre getting crushed," Miller said. "Its clear in this recovery in the last two quarters, corporate profits are going through the ceiling but workers who made that possible dont share it." And the gulf between American workers and CEOs is widening: today the average CEO makes more in 10 minutes than the average workers earns in a week, said John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, which sponsored the gathering. Speakers touted the success of signing 204 congressional cosponsors to a bill introduced by Miller in the House and Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) in the Senate, which has 31 cosponsors. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) would:
"Were here today because we believe in America and in an America where every worker has a voice," Podesta said. To draw attention to the EFCA, workers nationwide will be mobilizing to promote the EFCA June 28 through July 4 for a week of action, declaring the freedoms we celebrate on Independence Day must include workers freedom to form unions and bargain for good contracts. Despite the enthusiasm on both sides of the aisle for the legislation, Miller said the likelihood Republican congressional leaders will ever bring it to the floor for a vote is slim. The conduct of Republican leaders in Congress over the past few years has given him and his Democratic colleagues an affinity with nonunion workers who lack a voice on the job, Miller said. He denounced those who "disenfranchise the representatives of the majority of workers in our country" by refusing to bring the Employee Free Choice Act to a vote. Miller, a longtime champion of labor issues in the U.S. Congress, denounced the hypocrisy of an Administration that "lectures people about freedom and democracy elsewhere," but denies those protections to workers at home. Former member of Congress David Bonior, who now chairs American Rights at Work, said the United States needs the EFCA because 10,000 workers are fired every year for trying to form unions, and 75 percent of employers hire union busting consultants. "Workers are afraid of speaking out because they are afraid of being persecuted despite the existence of labor laws," he said. He closed his remarks with a historical lesson on the value placed on the work force by employers 50 years ago and today. In the 1950s, General Motors paid its workers enough to afford the cars they were helping to produce. Today, the biggest corporation in the world, Wal-Mart, pays its workers so little, its the only place they can afford to shop.
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