Unions

A fascinating article by Steven Greenhouse on the case made by Ed Ott, chief of the NYC Central Labor Council, to do more for nonunionized workers:

Ed Ott, the executive director of the New York City Central Labor Council, an umbrella group for the city’s labor unions, has an unexpected and unnerving warning for New York’s more than one million union members.

He warns that their wages and living standards will be threatened unless the city’s unions do far more to lift the incomes and living standards of the city’s nonunion working poor, including restaurant workers, supermarket cashiers and taxi drivers.

“Going forward, if we don’t raise the standards for the lowest-paid workers in the city, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of them, our own levels that we achieved — of wages, pensions and time off — they’re not sustainable,” said Mr. Ott, whose group is a federation of 400 union locals. “For a working class that is going to be making minimum wage or slightly above, what’s going to happen is that as taxpayers, that will create a social base for an attack on our own standards.”

....

Mr. Ott is glad that many union members — for instance, construction workers, telephone workers and teachers — have achieved middle-class status. But he voiced frustration that many unions showed little concern about lifting the status of low-wage nonunion workers. He made his remarks at a time when the number of nonunion workers has soared in traditionally union-dominated industries like construction and hotels.

Mr. Ott sees two working classes in New York: a unionized one that is doing well and a nonunion one that is struggling to get by.

“You see a working class on the subway at 6:30 in the morning and you see them at 8:30 at night heading home,” he said. “They work in the back of restaurants, they clean buildings nonunion, they’re child care workers, they’re in retail. Frankly, I marvel that these guys can find a way to live in this city. They work very hard. Most of these workers who work outside a union setting, they work more than one job or they work one job many hours.”

Mr. Ott said the union movement needed to work closely with less-well-off groups of workers — taxi drivers, domestic workers, restaurant workers, even freelance writers and computer workers — to help raise their living standards, not just for moral reasons but also for their own self-interest. “Every time you go to the bargaining table now, there’s downward pressure,” he said. “Even in the public sector, it’s ‘Any improvements you want, you have to pay for with concessions.’ That’s downward pressure, too.”

....

A fantastic new paper from CEPR's John Schmitt on how unions boost the wages of low wage-workers:

Economic data have long demonstrated a substantial wage premium for unionized workers --on the order of 10 to 20 percent-- relative to non-union workers with similar characteristics. This paper uses a straightforward extension of standard statistical techniques to estimate the impact of unionization separately for workers at different wage levels, from the lowest to the highest paid workers.

Using national data for 2003 through 2007, we estimate that unionization raises the wages of the typical low-wage worker (one in the 10th percentile) by 20.6 percent, compared to 13.7 percent for the typical worker (one in the 50th percentile), and 6.1 percent for the typical high-wage worker (one in the 90th percentile). The traditional statistical approach applied to the same data produces an estimate of the average union wage premium of 11.9 percent, which is substantially lower than the union effect on low-wage workers (20.6 percent) and somewhat below the effect for the median- wage worker (13.7 percent).

Also worth noting, the report includes state-by-state data on union wage premium.

Martin Luther King was assassinated 40 years ago today in Memphis. He was there on behalf of striking black sanitation workers. In a post at the AFL-CIO's blog, historian Michael Honey, who told the story of the Memphis strike in Going Down Jericho Road, explains the significance of Memphis:

....

What the nation mostly remembers about Memphis in 1968 is King’s death there, but few seem to know that he died in the midst of a struggle for the right to belong to a union, which the mayor and the City Council resisted at all costs. Unionization, they feared, would open up the floodgates of demands by African Americans, who constituted nearly 40 percent of the local population of 500,000 in the mid-1960s.

In fact, no one needed unions more than black workers in Memphis. The constant danger of getting fired forced them to take what the white man dished out. Segregation denied them adequate education, training, and promotion ladders. They routinely endured police brutality and unjust incarceration. The strike of black sanitation workers in 1968 thus embodied a larger struggle for the human rights of all black workers in their community.

King knew these problems intimately. He had grown up and led campaigns with poor black people across the South for much of his adult life. “All labor has dignity,” he declared in a remarkable impromptu speech to an overflowing crowd of more than 10,000 people at Memphis' Mason Temple on March 18, the largest indoor mass rally of the civil rights era in the South. “You are reminding, not only Memphis, but you are reminding the nation that it is a crime for people to live in this rich nation and receive starvation wages. And I need not remind you that this is our plight as a people all over America.” The best anti-poverty program for a worker, King often said, is a union.

“With Selma and the voting rights bill one era of our struggle came to a close and a new era came into being,” he told strikers. “Now our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality. For now we know that it isn’t enough to integrate lunch counters. What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn’t earn enough money to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee?”

Within days, an assassin cut him down.

Forty years have now passed. Today, we should remember King not only for his “I Have a Dream” speech and his leadership of the civil rights revolution from 1955 to 1965, but for what he called “Phase Two,” the movement for economic equality.

Labor rights remain as important as ever for black workers. In a new CEPR report, economist John Schmitt finds that unionization substantially boosts the wages and benefits of black workers:

On average, unionization raised black workers' wages 12 percent—about $2.00 per hour—relative to black workers with similar characteristics who were not in unions. The union impact on health-insurance and pension coverage was even larger. African-American workers who were in unions were 16 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance and 19 percentage points more likely to have a pension plan than similar non-union workers.

If MLK were alive today, he would leading the fight for progressive legislation— like the Employee Free Choice Act—to extend the benefits of unionization to more workers.

Abstract of a new working paper from Richard Freeman and M. Marit Rahavi:

This study examines two innovative efforts to provide union services to workers with the aid of low cost Internet communication: the AFL-CIO's Working America, a "community affiliate" that enrolled 2 million workers from 2004 to 2007 by canvassing them at their homes and over the Internet (www.workingamerica.org); and the UK'S Trade Union Congress's www.unionreps.org.uk, a discussion board for worker representatives to communicate about workplace issues. Working America demonstrates that workers without collective bargaining will join a union organization that communicates on-line and off-line and campaigns for worker interests in society. Unionreps.org shows that local worker representatives can form an on-line community that shares information to improve the services they give workers. Combining the two innovations could be a step toward a new "open source" union form that provides union services at low cost outside of collective bargaining.

Also worth checking out, this published piece from 2002 on the internet and employee organization.

... at this great new website from our friends at American Rights at Work.

Ben Zipperer and John Schmitt on the today's BLS report on unionization:

For the first time in the past quarter of a century, in 2007 U.S. unions increased their share of membership among workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) annual union membership report released today. Unions added about 310,000 members last year, raising the unionized share of the workforce to 12.1 percent from 12.0 percent in 2006.

The increase is small, and may well reflect statistical variation rather than an actual increase in the union membership share, but the uptick is striking because it is the first time since the BLS began collecting annual union membership rates in 1983 that the union share has increased.

....

Even if the increase is a statistical blip, it seems at a minimum that we've finally hit bottom on unionization, and as Big Audio Dynamite sang in the best non-blues song ever written about economic decline: "when you hit the bottom line, the only thing to do is climb ...."

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The Economic Footprint of Unions in Los Angeles (December 2007)
by Daniel Flaming, Economic Roundtable
This briefing paper prepared for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, relates the wage advantage of union workers over non-union workers and the impact of union workers on LA's economy.

Permalancers, Unite! (December 13, 2007)
by Anya Kamenetz, The Nation
The Nation describes the new online method of organizing that Viacom's freelancers and "permalancers" have adopted in the face of cutbacks by the profitable media firm. An increasing number of these workers have been shifted to status as independent contrators and lost health and retirement benefits with no change in their workload.

Home Health Assistants Vote to Join Union: Overwhelming 'Yes' Gives Momentum, Strength to SEIU (November 9, 2007)
by Jeffrey Krasner, The Boston Globe
The article describes the vote for Massachusetts home health assistants and the larger role of the healthcare workforce that SEIU hopes to attract in its membership.

FedUp with FedEx: How FedEx Ground Tramples Workers' Rights and Civil Rights (October 2007)
by Erin Johansson, American Rights at Work
Employer misclassification of employees as independent contractors denies workers’ rights and tax revenue/contributions to unemployment and workers comp funds. This report documents the widespread use of employee misclassification at FedEx Ground, which violates worker’s fundamental civil rights and workplace protections.

Unions and Upward Mobility for Low-Wage Workers (August 2007)
by John Schmitt, Margy Waller, Shawn Fremstad and Ben Zipperer, Center for Economic Policy and Research & Inclusion
This report analyzes 15 of the lowest paying occupations in the United States and finds that unionized workers earn about 16% more than their non-unionized counterparts. Unionized workers in the same industries are also 25 percentage points more likely to have health insurance or a pension plan.

N.J. Child Care Workers Win Right to Join AFSCME, CWA (8/7/2006)
by Mike Hall, AFL-CIO blog
An executive order passed by the governor of New Jersey grants child care workers employed by the state union bargaining rights.

What Is a Worker Cooperative? (June 2007)
by The United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives
This is a helpful fact sheet that defines worker cooperatives and the difference between cooperatives, collectives and other forms of democratically owned and operated business organizations. Included are resources for starting or joining worker cooperatives.

Albany Ready to Give Union Rights to 52,000 Day Care Workers (6/28/2006)
by Danny Hakim, The New York Times
This article explains the state's potential costs of the unionization of day care workers and proponents' arguments.

Iowa Child Care Providers Win with AFSCME
by AFSCME Publications
This brief article comments on the AFSCME win and its perspective of the battle with SEIU for representation of child care providers in Iowa.

Executive Order on Collective Negotiation by Day Care Home Providers (2/18/05)
by Rod R Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois
The executive order issued by Gov. Glagojevich addresses the need to expand access to quality child care in the face of declining numbers of licensed homes for day care. The order offers more qulaity options for parents by ensuring representation for child care workers.

Low-Wage America: How Employers Are Reshping Opportunity in the Workplace The Coffee Pot Wars: Unions and Firm Restructuring in the Hotel Industry (2003)
by Annette Bernhardt, Laura Dresser, and Erin Hatton
This excerpt analyzes the impact of unions on restructuring in the hotel industry. It consists of background research on historical trends in the hospitality industry and case studies of eight hotels in four U.S. cities.

A tip of the hat to the analysts at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) who now have a union for the first time in GAO's history. GAO analysts overwhelmingly voted, 897-445, to be represented by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. The IFPTE also represents workers at CEPR, EPI, and some other DC-based policy shops.

PS: If you're a policy analyst or advocate in DC and want to have a voice in your workplace, contact the folks at IFPTE Local 70.

I noted earlier that the Brookings Institute is sponsoring an event this week with Barack Obama at Jurys Doyle Hotel in Washington, DC, a hotel that happens to be one of only three in DC on the boycott list of the hotel workers' union, UNITE HERE. Turns out it's not the only event Brookings is holding at the boycotted hotel. On Thursday, they're holding an event on Anti-poverty Policies: Incentives and Work Mandates for Young Men at Jury's. Like previous poverty events held by Brookings, my guess is that you will not hear the word "union" spoken at this one either, even though greater unionization would certainly do more to lift young men out of poverty than "work mandates."

On Tuesday, the Brookings Institution is sponsoring a speech by Barack Obama on "the economy, opportunity, and tax policy.". I would go, but it turns out the event is being held at Jurys Doyle, a hotel on UNITE HERE's boycott list. Jurys Doyle and one other Jurys hotel are the only two hotels in DC on the boycott list. There are several on the "please patronize list", making Jurys a somewhat puzzling choice for such an event.

Or at least he likes our new report enough to mention it in his Labor Day blog on Huffington Post:

.... Unions have done more to help working people experience economic success than any other program.

This week, a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Inclusion showed that workers in the lowest-paying jobs make about 16 percent more when they are members of a union, and they are 25 percent more likely to have health insurance or a pension plan.

Now, more than ever, as new technologies and new ways of thinking about efficiency have reduced workers to a line item on a balance sheet, unions are not only relevant—we are indispensable.

As the economic landscape has shifted, the labor movement has needed to adapt to these new realities. I am proud to report that the 1.9 million workers united in SEIU stand at the forefront of the evolving labor movement. In recent years we have pioneered new models of organizing, like uniting workers in nontraditional employment situations. Since 1999, 400,000 home care workers have changed state laws throughout the country to give them the freedom to unite in a union.

We have established new relationships with employers who are willing to reward work, while continuing to hold accountable those who are not. We are acting on new ways to secure health care and retirement security that reflect rather than deny the new economic reality.

The bottom line is this: the American economy is not a zero-sum game. There is no good moral or economic reason why all workers cannot or should not share in the success and prosperity they helped create. We need to restore the promise of the American Dream. And that means choosing what kind of country we want to be.

Some Labor Day history:

The movement for a national Labor Day had been growing for some time. In September 1892, union workers in New York City took an unpaid day off and marched around Union Square in support of the holiday. But now, protests against President [Grover] Cleveland's harsh methods [in crushing the Pullman strike] made the appeasement of the nation's workers a top political priority. In the immediate wake of the strike, legislation was rushed unanimously through both houses of Congress, and the bill arrived on President Cleveland's desk just six days after his troops had broken the Pullman strike.

1894 was an election year. President Cleveland seized the chance at conciliation, and Labor Day was born. He was not reelected.

In 1898, Samuel Gompers, head of the American Federation of Labor, called it "the day for which the toilers in past centuries looked forward, when their rights and their wrongs would be discussed...that the workers of our day may not only lay down their tools of labor for a holiday, but upon which they may touch shoulders in marching phalanx and feel the stronger for it."

Most countries celebrate Labor Day on May 1, so why is it on the first Monday of September in the United States? According to Wikipedia:

The Knights of Labor organized the original parade on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. In 1884 another parade was held, and the Knights passed resolutions to make this an annual event. Other labor organizations (and there were many), but notably the affiliates of the International Workingmen's Association, many of whom were socialists or anarchists, favored a May 1 holiday. In 1886 came the general strike which eventually won the eight-hour workday in the United States. These events are today commemorated as Labor Day in virtually every country in the world, with the notable exceptions being the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. With the Chicago Haymarket riots in early May of 1886, President Grover Cleveland believed that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus, fearing that it might strengthen the socialist movement, he quickly moved in 1887 to support the position of the Knights of Labor and their date for Labor Day.

The press release for a new report from CEPR and Inclusion on how unionization increases the upward mobility of workers in low-wage jobs:

Washington, DC: Unionization substantially raises wages and benefits even in typically low-wage occupations, according to "Unions and Upward Mobility for Low- Wage Workers ", a report released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Inclusion.

The report, which analyzed 15 of the lowest-paying occupations in the United States, found that unionized workers earned about 16 percent more than their non-union counterparts. Unionized workers in these same industries were also about 25 percentage points more likely to have health insurance or a pension plan.

For workers in these low-wage industries, unionization raised their wages, on average, about $1.75 per hour. In financial terms, the union effect on employer-provided health insurance and pensions was even larger.

"Our findings contradict the widespread belief that low-wage jobs are incapable of providing decent pay and benefits," said John Schmitt, a Senior Economist at the CEPR and one of the study's authors. "When workers have a voice at work, they can dramatically increase their wages and benefits, even in what are traditionally badly paying jobs."

The 15 low-wage occupations together employ just over 15 percent of all US workers and include cafeteria workers, child-care workers, cooks, housekeeping cleaners, home-care aides, janitors, ground maintenance workers, nurses aides and home-health aides, teachers assistants, and security guards.

"Given the prevalence of low-wage jobs without benefits in our labor market, and the likelihood that these sectors will grow rather than decline, some attention to this strategy of improving the U.S. labor market is critical to strengthening our economy and communities," according to Margy Waller, co-director of Inclusion and a co-author of the report.

The Mobility Agenda is collaborating with documentary filmmakers and an intermediary, Active Voice, to promote a new film about low-wage work: Made in LA.

Active Voice brings filmmakers, policy advocates, and researchers together on issues of mutual interest. Recently, Inclusion’s Mobility Agenda team hosted a roundtable discussion about the film with Active Voice, just as the documentary began its festival circuit with a showing in DC at the SILVERDOCS festival.

On Tuesday September 4th, Made in LA will air nationwide on the PBS documentary series, POV, as a Labor Day special. We’re encouraging others to watch show for two reasons:

First, Made in L.A. is a story about the low-wage labor market and the critical importance of organizing the workplace to create a space for worker voices, and providing intermediary support and resources (like worker centers and unions) that can improve low-wage job conditions. It also provides a teaching moment for shoppers - if the price is a "steal", someone else probably already "paid" for it in low wages.

Second, at Inclusion and The Mobility Agenda, we are committed to using new media approaches for sharing ideas about issues of economic security and mobility, and successful strategies for system change. We are really impressed with the Active Voice leadership and their approach using documentary film to advance public understanding and policy change. While the film presents the particular experience of immigrant workers in LA, this documentary provides information about the low-wage labor market that is relevant across sectors.

Here is a description from the filmmakers:

MADE IN LA follows the remarkable journey of three Latina immigrants working LA’s garment factories and their struggles for self-empowerment as they wage a three-year battle to bring a major clothing retailer to the negotiating table. In an intimate vérité style, MADE IN LA offers a rare and poignant glimpse into this “other” America, where immigrants in many industries toil long hours for sub-minimum wages, fighting for an opportunity in a new country.

A majority of the Senate yesterday voted in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation that would help turn the tide against rising inequality and improve the quality of low-wage jobs by reducing barriers that keep millions of low-wage workers from joining together to bargain for fair treatment.

Unfortunately, the reform bill, which has already passed the House, will remain struck for now because conservative Senators voted en masse against allowing a final vote that would move it out of the Senate.

Over at DMIBlog, Amy Traub has a good post on why passing the reform is so important:

... unions not only helped to create the American middle class in the last century, they continue to propel millions of Americans into the middle class today, empowering members to demand jobs that are capable of sustaining a middle-class standard of living, with dignified wages, leave policies, health care, and retirement plans. The benefits of union membership are most pronounced for people of color and for women. In areas where unions represent a high proportion of workers a particular industry, they can even help to raise industry standards across-the-board: improving wages and job quality even for workers who don't belong. Not surprisingly, as union membership has declined over the past decades, the middle-class squeeze has intensified.

Giving more Americans the choice to join a union would be a significant step toward rebuilding the American middle class and alleviating the squeeze. That makes the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) one of the most important bills Congress has considered this year.

At it's core, EFCA would make it easier for Americans to decide on union representation without being threatened and harassed by their employers. Of course, it's already illegal for employers to threaten and harass employees -- we’re already supposed to have a free choice about whether we want a union -- but in practice illegal harassment and even firings are common and usually go unpunished. We need a new system for guaranteeing the right to decide on union membership, and that's what EFCA provides.

....

While reform may be stalled for this year, this isn't an issue that's going to go away.