Abstract
In the United States, the majority of workers are in the working class. Working conditions, hours, and a living wage are among the important features of adequate employment. Historically, labor unions have been instrumental in improving working terms and conditions. As typical working conditions have become comparable between union and non-union employment, membership in unions has declined. There are those who argue that decreased unionism is a mistake, and that it has contributed to widening the gap between rich and poor. This paper examines proposed countermeasures. To instill the concept of social justice into the U.S. labor movement, changes must be made.
Social Justice for the Working Class
In the United States, the majority of workers are in the working class. Working conditions, hours, and a living wage are among the important features of adequate employment. A labor union's purpose is to ensure a safe and fair working environment and a decent wage by collectively bargaining a contract between workers and management, ensuring both follow a prescribed set of "rules," whereby each knows exactly what to expect from the other. Historically, labor unions have been instrumental in improving working terms and conditions. As typical working conditions have become comparable between union and non-union employment, membership in unions has declined. There are those who argue that decreased unionism has contributed to widening the gap between rich and poor. Pope Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum in 1891. In it, he called for the government to support unionization and to promote the classes working together, as opposed to the government ignoring the domination and abuse of the poor by the rich. This paper will examine the proposed countermeasures of two authors who share this social justice viewpoint. Michael D. Yates (2009), author of Why Unions Matter, believes the way to reinvigorate the labor movement in the U.S. is to embrace the tenets of social responsibility and focus on increasing union membership. Thomas Geoghegan (2014), author of Only One Thing Can Save Us: Why America Needs a New Kind of Labor Movement, asserts that heavy union involvement in politics, disruption through strategic strikes, and adoption of the German model of labor will strengthen the labor movement and shrink the inequity between rich and poor. To instill the concept of social justice into the U.S. labor movement, something has to change, and perhaps one of these proposed solutions is the key.
Unions must embrace social responsibility. According to Yates (2009), unions have the broader purpose of lobbying for policy changes that affect more than just the union members. On page 111 of Why Unions Matter, Yates (2009) says, "Social problems require social action." Examples include lobbying for an increase in the minimum wage and advocating for fair and for non-discriminatory treatment of minorities. A socially responsible group will garner more community support than one that is not. Just like a corporation, building good will in a community by doing good social works is worth more than money when it comes time to vote on laws. However, people become disengaged with a group if it seems like they are only being socially responsible in order to further their own special interests. In their analysis of union social responsibility in the International Business & Economics Research Journal, authors Norman Carroll and Molly Burke (2010) of Dominion University, USA, state that to be socially responsible, unions must sometimes look beyond the needs of individual members to address larger social issues, even if that puts the union at odds with members. Under the concept of social justice, the union becomes the example and models the behaviors that members would emulate.
To be a viable socially responsible entity, a union must have members. In the past 20 years, union membership has declined. The decline could be due to unions not being needed any longer. The Wagner Act protects both union and non-union workers. The Wagner Act already conveys union-like protections to non-union workers who negotiate on behalf of the group. An employee does not necessarily need a union to demand a safe workplace in this age of video cameras and social media, but there may be other threats that require protection.
Unions must focus on increasing membership. The "corporate agenda" (Yates, 2009) is to destroy unions by union busting, hiring replacement workers, and generally lobbying against organized labor. A union reform group called the "New Voice" has tried to combat the "corporate agenda" by implementing training on how to organize, introducing young people to the union ideology, and by encouraging unions to spend more money on shoring up the social movement of organized labor; however, according to Yates (2009), it has been ineffective. Just adding to the union's numbers may have unintended consequences. In order to compete in the global economy, a corporation has to be able to be flexible. This can mean moving operations to another country where labor is cheaper. Certainly, it is not good for the working class who depend on those jobs, but is it fair to the business owner whose business fails because he cannot compete? Fortunately, local labor and community goodwill are worth a lot to a company over the long term, so hiring locally and paying the extra wages and benefits could be a win-win. According to Dan Clawson of the University of Massachusetts, the more union members there are, the more likely higher wages and better benefits will be viewed as just the "cost of doing business" by the employer (p. 748). The New Voice's goal is to have employers make the choice to invest in the community, because the community is educated on the issues and galvanized to stand together and to make the company successful.
Now that we have looked at the pros and cons of Yates' (2009) ideas of social responsibility and increased membership for fixing the labor movement, let us look at Geoghegan's ideas. Although similar, Geoghegan is less prone toward the civility that Yates displays.
Unions must influence politicians to support laws favorable to the labor movement. Geoghegan (2014, p. 13) connects Congress "re-writing the Constitution" to effects on labor and income distribution in the macro-economy when he states, "Now the First Amendment protects money instead of speech." Geoghegan asserts that government makes laws that benefit the rich only, and that the working class is not protected. For example, "Right-to-Work" laws make it so that union members do not have to pay dues if they do not really want to be in the union -- but they still get the protection the union can give them. If the unions do not get to collect dues, they cannot afford to continue (or at least not in the same way or with any reasonable level of effectiveness). Employees who are not in a union are employed "at will," and can be fired at any time because they are viewed as an "economic commodity" and not as a person (Crain, 2012). The other side of the political coin is described by Armand Thieblot (2010) in his journal article, "Unions, the Rule of Law, and Political Rent-Seeking," where he describes manipulation of the system, with the aim of enriching the unions.
Government support makes it easier for unions to get what they need for their members; however, when working conditions are bad and an employer is not responding, a union can opt to strike. Geoghegan's (2014) recommendation is to be strategic about striking.
Unions must use the theory of disruption to affect change. Catholic Social Teachings (Tablan, 2014) assert that, "Any human activity that compromises human dignity by seriously harming or degrading people cannot be called work regardless of how much economic value it generates or the quality of the products and services it produces." Geoghegan (2014) proposes that groups can stage "quick-hit" civil disobedience to get the attention of employers and the government to take steps to alleviate poor working environments. Goeghegan's (2014) theory of disruption could work, but only because it puts employers in bad financial or social situations. There is a danger in staging civil disobedience in that people could get hurt. I believe people should not have to be beaten or otherwise mistreated just to make a political point. Geoghegan's (2014) proposal that nurses could be the first to practice that type of disruption is a good example, and would be the least likely to end in violence, because nurses are educated and have credibility, and they are in a field that is all about caring for people. With an altruistic goal as the platform for the strike, communities would respond to that and support it.
The current U.S. model of organized labor does not support strikes as was the case in the past. Unions are more likely to threaten, but then compromise. The power is truly with the corporations. The German model of organized labor is more employee-centric.
The U.S. should adopt the German model. Geoghegan (2014) argues that the U.S. should be more like Germany, which has only 16% of the population with college degrees. Germany is a labor-based society, and they focus on developing skills as part of employment rather than requiring an arbitrary 4-year degree. Geoghegan (2014) says that focus on education, without an equal push for organized labor, will not work. Geoghegan (2014, p. 97) calls the viewpoint that education will shorten the gap in equality "magical thinking." He goes on to say that those politicians who tout education as the cure are "elitist" and just prefer talking to educated people rather than the "NASCAR" crowd. Pros in the German model if used in the U.S. include more people acquiring training in their jobs and staying in one job longer. Cons include fewer college educated people and higher unemployment. There would be less push for college education, and companies would hire fewer employees because the ones they have are more skilled, are paid more, and have more responsibility, so they would not need more employees. An article by Morgan O. Reynolds (former chief economist at the U.S. Dept. of Labor) (2008) that said that unions can have a monopoly on salaries, and take them beyond the competitive range, that makes companies hire less people, driving unemployment up and productivity down.
In conclusion, my personal view of labor management relations has changed to be more sympathetic to the cause of labor. By attaining an understanding of the history and the purpose of the labor movement, I can appreciate labor's goals. The economic impact was most surprising. An article by Rick Wolff (2012) reviews how the U.S. economy has done five years on from the 2009 recession. Rick Wolff has a PhD in Economics from Yale, is a Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, and does a weekly economics radio program in New York. Wolff's article supports Geoghegan's assertion that the middle class in America is going away; he says that since the 2009 recession, the very rich are getting richer and the middle class and poor are getting poorer (2012). Comparable to Geoghegan, Wolff's predictions for the middle class in our capitalist economy are dire. Soon there will be only the rich and the poor, turning our capitalist economy into a corporatist, fascist regime (Lakic, 2012). Both Yates (2009) and Geoghegan (2012) have valid points. I believe Yates' focus on social responsibility and increased membership aligns more closely with the concepts of professional ethics and social responsibility found in Critical Management Studies (Ball, 2015) and Management as a Profession (Khurana, et al. 2005); Geoghegan (2014) is too violent and disruptive in his ideas, causing more harm to the labor movement than good.
Unions must embrace social responsibility. According to Yates (2009), unions have the broader purpose of lobbying for policy changes that affect more than just the union members. On page 111 of Why Unions Matter, Yates (2009) says, "Social problems require social action." Examples include lobbying for an increase in the minimum wage and advocating for fair and for non-discriminatory treatment of minorities. A socially responsible group will garner more community support than one that is not. Just like a corporation, building good will in a community by doing good social works is worth more than money when it comes time to vote on laws. However, people become disengaged with a group if it seems like they are only being socially responsible in order to further their own special interests. In their analysis of union social responsibility in the International Business & Economics Research Journal, authors Norman Carroll and Molly Burke (2010) of Dominion University, USA, state that to be socially responsible, unions must sometimes look beyond the needs of individual members to address larger social issues, even if that puts the union at odds with members. Under the concept of social justice, the union becomes the example and models the behaviors that members would emulate.
To be a viable socially responsible entity, a union must have members. In the past 20 years, union membership has declined. The decline could be due to unions not being needed any longer. The Wagner Act protects both union and non-union workers. The Wagner Act already conveys union-like protections to non-union workers who negotiate on behalf of the group. An employee does not necessarily need a union to demand a safe workplace in this age of video cameras and social media, but there may be other threats that require protection.
Unions must focus on increasing membership. The "corporate agenda" (Yates, 2009) is to destroy unions by union busting, hiring replacement workers, and generally lobbying against organized labor. A union reform group called the "New Voice" has tried to combat the "corporate agenda" by implementing training on how to organize, introducing young people to the union ideology, and by encouraging unions to spend more money on shoring up the social movement of organized labor; however, according to Yates (2009), it has been ineffective. Just adding to the union's numbers may have unintended consequences. In order to compete in the global economy, a corporation has to be able to be flexible. This can mean moving operations to another country where labor is cheaper. Certainly, it is not good for the working class who depend on those jobs, but is it fair to the business owner whose business fails because he cannot compete? Fortunately, local labor and community goodwill are worth a lot to a company over the long term, so hiring locally and paying the extra wages and benefits could be a win-win. According to Dan Clawson of the University of Massachusetts, the more union members there are, the more likely higher wages and better benefits will be viewed as just the "cost of doing business" by the employer (p. 748). The New Voice's goal is to have employers make the choice to invest in the community, because the community is educated on the issues and galvanized to stand together and to make the company successful.
Now that we have looked at the pros and cons of Yates' (2009) ideas of social responsibility and increased membership for fixing the labor movement, let us look at Geoghegan's ideas. Although similar, Geoghegan is less prone toward the civility that Yates displays.
Unions must influence politicians to support laws favorable to the labor movement. Geoghegan (2014, p. 13) connects Congress "re-writing the Constitution" to effects on labor and income distribution in the macro-economy when he states, "Now the First Amendment protects money instead of speech." Geoghegan asserts that government makes laws that benefit the rich only, and that the working class is not protected. For example, "Right-to-Work" laws make it so that union members do not have to pay dues if they do not really want to be in the union -- but they still get the protection the union can give them. If the unions do not get to collect dues, they cannot afford to continue (or at least not in the same way or with any reasonable level of effectiveness). Employees who are not in a union are employed "at will," and can be fired at any time because they are viewed as an "economic commodity" and not as a person (Crain, 2012). The other side of the political coin is described by Armand Thieblot (2010) in his journal article, "Unions, the Rule of Law, and Political Rent-Seeking," where he describes manipulation of the system, with the aim of enriching the unions.
Government support makes it easier for unions to get what they need for their members; however, when working conditions are bad and an employer is not responding, a union can opt to strike. Geoghegan's (2014) recommendation is to be strategic about striking.
Unions must use the theory of disruption to affect change. Catholic Social Teachings (Tablan, 2014) assert that, "Any human activity that compromises human dignity by seriously harming or degrading people cannot be called work regardless of how much economic value it generates or the quality of the products and services it produces." Geoghegan (2014) proposes that groups can stage "quick-hit" civil disobedience to get the attention of employers and the government to take steps to alleviate poor working environments. Goeghegan's (2014) theory of disruption could work, but only because it puts employers in bad financial or social situations. There is a danger in staging civil disobedience in that people could get hurt. I believe people should not have to be beaten or otherwise mistreated just to make a political point. Geoghegan's (2014) proposal that nurses could be the first to practice that type of disruption is a good example, and would be the least likely to end in violence, because nurses are educated and have credibility, and they are in a field that is all about caring for people. With an altruistic goal as the platform for the strike, communities would respond to that and support it.
The current U.S. model of organized labor does not support strikes as was the case in the past. Unions are more likely to threaten, but then compromise. The power is truly with the corporations. The German model of organized labor is more employee-centric.
The U.S. should adopt the German model. Geoghegan (2014) argues that the U.S. should be more like Germany, which has only 16% of the population with college degrees. Germany is a labor-based society, and they focus on developing skills as part of employment rather than requiring an arbitrary 4-year degree. Geoghegan (2014) says that focus on education, without an equal push for organized labor, will not work. Geoghegan (2014, p. 97) calls the viewpoint that education will shorten the gap in equality "magical thinking." He goes on to say that those politicians who tout education as the cure are "elitist" and just prefer talking to educated people rather than the "NASCAR" crowd. Pros in the German model if used in the U.S. include more people acquiring training in their jobs and staying in one job longer. Cons include fewer college educated people and higher unemployment. There would be less push for college education, and companies would hire fewer employees because the ones they have are more skilled, are paid more, and have more responsibility, so they would not need more employees. An article by Morgan O. Reynolds (former chief economist at the U.S. Dept. of Labor) (2008) that said that unions can have a monopoly on salaries, and take them beyond the competitive range, that makes companies hire less people, driving unemployment up and productivity down.
In conclusion, my personal view of labor management relations has changed to be more sympathetic to the cause of labor. By attaining an understanding of the history and the purpose of the labor movement, I can appreciate labor's goals. The economic impact was most surprising. An article by Rick Wolff (2012) reviews how the U.S. economy has done five years on from the 2009 recession. Rick Wolff has a PhD in Economics from Yale, is a Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, and does a weekly economics radio program in New York. Wolff's article supports Geoghegan's assertion that the middle class in America is going away; he says that since the 2009 recession, the very rich are getting richer and the middle class and poor are getting poorer (2012). Comparable to Geoghegan, Wolff's predictions for the middle class in our capitalist economy are dire. Soon there will be only the rich and the poor, turning our capitalist economy into a corporatist, fascist regime (Lakic, 2012). Both Yates (2009) and Geoghegan (2012) have valid points. I believe Yates' focus on social responsibility and increased membership aligns more closely with the concepts of professional ethics and social responsibility found in Critical Management Studies (Ball, 2015) and Management as a Profession (Khurana, et al. 2005); Geoghegan (2014) is too violent and disruptive in his ideas, causing more harm to the labor movement than good.
References
Ball, S. (2015). Critical management studies. In Siena Heights University Labor Relations (OA). Retrieved October 24, 2015, from http://sienaonline.org/
Carroll, N., & Burke, M. (2010). The social responsibility of labor. The International Business & Economics Research Journal, 9(12), 113-118. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/840551788?accountid=28644
Clawson, D. (2012). Labor in struggle. Contemporary Sociology, 41(6), 747-755. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1284081944?accountid=28644
Crain, M. (2012). Work, free will and law. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 24(4), 279-287. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10672-012-9207-5
Geoghegan, T. (2014). Only one thing can save us: Why America needs a new kind of labor movement. New York, NY: The New Press.
Khurana, R., Nohria, N., & Penrice, D. (2005, February 21). Is business management a profession?. In Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Retrieved December 13, 2015, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4650.html
Lakic, S. (2012). Corporatism as a totalitaristic foundation and practicism. Montenegrin Journal of Economics, 8(2), 275-293. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1328488897?accountid=28644
Rerum Novarum, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on capital and labor (pub. 1891) at http://w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
Reynolds, M. O. (2008). Labor unions. In Library of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LaborUnions.html
Tablan, F. (2015). Catholic social teachings: Toward a meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(2), 291-303. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2104-0
Thieblot, A. (2010). Unions, the rule of law, and political rent seeking. Cato Journal, 30(1), 23-44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195579097?accountid=28644
Yates, M. D. (2009). Why unions matter (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Monthly Review Press.
Carroll, N., & Burke, M. (2010). The social responsibility of labor. The International Business & Economics Research Journal, 9(12), 113-118. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/840551788?accountid=28644
Clawson, D. (2012). Labor in struggle. Contemporary Sociology, 41(6), 747-755. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1284081944?accountid=28644
Crain, M. (2012). Work, free will and law. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 24(4), 279-287. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10672-012-9207-5
Geoghegan, T. (2014). Only one thing can save us: Why America needs a new kind of labor movement. New York, NY: The New Press.
Khurana, R., Nohria, N., & Penrice, D. (2005, February 21). Is business management a profession?. In Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Retrieved December 13, 2015, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4650.html
Lakic, S. (2012). Corporatism as a totalitaristic foundation and practicism. Montenegrin Journal of Economics, 8(2), 275-293. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1328488897?accountid=28644
Rerum Novarum, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on capital and labor (pub. 1891) at http://w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
Reynolds, M. O. (2008). Labor unions. In Library of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LaborUnions.html
Tablan, F. (2015). Catholic social teachings: Toward a meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(2), 291-303. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2104-0
Thieblot, A. (2010). Unions, the rule of law, and political rent seeking. Cato Journal, 30(1), 23-44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195579097?accountid=28644
Yates, M. D. (2009). Why unions matter (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Monthly Review Press.