Unions

Tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in which 146 garment workers died. The reason that the death toll was so high was that management had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits.

This anniversary, as well as the battles between Republican Governors and public employee unions in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, brings to mind the idea that a series of pieces on unions might contribute to clearing a path through the propaganda emitted by both sides.

From the beginning of the industrial age until relatively modern times, industrial working hours were long, conditions were harsh - frequently more dangerous than necessary, and pay was low. In addition, poor treatment of individuals, or its reverse - favoritism, in terms of work assignments and discipline as well as hiring and firing was rampant.

Much of this was the result of a mismatch between the power of a corporation and the power of individual workers. For working conditions to become generally (emphasis added) decent took the power of government regulation supplemented by workers who banded together to bargain collectively and who, by withholding their labor (i.e. striking) albeit at some considerable short term cost to themselves, did much to make the modern workplace a more civilized place.

There are still businesses where the work is hard, dangerous and uncomfortable and where the power of an individual employee pales compared to that of the employer. Mining - particularly underground coal mining - is one of those where all too many employers adopt the attitude that production at all costs - regardless of threats to life and limb - must be the sole objective.

For manual workers, no industry is more dangerous than meat packing. While union members formerly amounted to more than 80% of the workforce, that is now below 50% and conditions are not improving. To link declining unionization and ongoing appalling working conditions is not a stretch.

Other industries, such as the harvesting of fruit and vegetables, where the work is hard, poorly paid and frequently performed by ill educated immigrants whose legal rights to be in the USA is often in doubt, suffer from too many employers who are willing to treat their employees in ugly ways. The fact that a minuscule number of these agricultural workers are unionized may also account for some of the conditions that they endure.

In spite of the fact that some industries - old line manufacturing, airlines, railroads and utilities for example - are heavily unionized, the usefulness of unions, or lack thereof, in the private sector is shown by declining membership. In 2009 only 7.2% of private sector employees were members of unions: a clear indicator that the "customers" are voting with their feet.

In the public sector, however, where working conditions are generally good and civil servants benefit from significant legal - in some States even Constitutional - protections, union membership amounts to over 37% of the workforce. Clearly government employees feel that they are getting something - and union dues are not a trivial expense - for their money.

They are right.

Check tomorrow for more thoughts on unions and their place in the modern workplace.