Weak unions, poor economy, worse democracy

Politically, the most important development in my life of 2003 would have to be my growing belief in unionism and the necessity of a strong labor movement. You'd think someone with at least marginal Marxist leanings would have proclaimed, after reading the Manifesto, "workers of the world, unite!" but I've always been a little less than orthodox and doctrinaire in such matters.

I blame, of course, my adviser, Nancy MacLean, for pushing me in this direction. Had she not coaxed me along gradually over the past year or so, I don't know that I'd ever have come to such an appreciation. Not that I'm just blindly following her out of slavish devotion or admiration. But she's the first person to have made me really contemplate labor issues and this movement and its broader implications. The rest was up to me.

At first, I came to this issue fairly naively. When I began thinking belatedly about jobs and career opportunities, she suggested working for a union. So I investigated it online and found that many unions are extremely progressive on a lot of issues, at least the ones that really matter. I was intrigued.

I suppose this is a natural corollary to some of my new economic thinking, coming to gradually embrace market principles, though not free markets. But well-run, uncorrupt unions are a healthy check on fiscally conservative politicians and robber barons. You can see a pretty good explanation of that from, of all people, Jonathan Lansner, the business columnist for the Orange County Register.

Sure, unions aren't perfect or sinless, but a lot of the labor rights most Americans have never fathomed because they take them for granted so much owe to the work of unions in the early 20th century. Things like the weekend, and eight-hour workday, health and vacation benefits, workers compensation, workplace safety, et al. Your job may suck, but it'd be infinitely worse in the absence of such restrictions. (Trust me, I've worked as a salaried temp not protected by hour limits, overtime or benefits of any sort.)

But, sadly, unions are on the decline. As are labor rights. I'm not sure which preceded the other, but they're certainly related. And the end result is that it's bad business if you're not one of the corporate executives drawing a salary that grows with each successive layoff and outsourcing of jobs overseas.

If we ever want to have an economy that benefits all classes of society, instead of just the ultra-rich at the expense of the middle and lower classes, or a vibrant democracy, we need some good, strong unions to act as a check on employers.