The rise and fall of American labor unionism

THE RISE AND FALL OF LABOR 1 THE RISE AND FALL OF LABOR 11

The Rise and Fall of Labor Sample xxxxx

Early History Labor unions have a lengthy history in the United States, starting with the early nineteenth century craft guilds. As industrialization boomed, so too did anti-monopoly sentiments. Influenced by socialist philosophies and ideologies, the labor movement became increasingly more political in tone and effect by the late nineteenth century. Groups like the Knights of Labor offered rights-based and ideological labor movements to counterbalance the looming trend towards capitalist labor exploitation. The Knights of Labor lacked cohesive leadership, though, and did not have the means by which to overcome the substantive pressures placed on workers by government-backed employer associations (Domhoff, n.d). The American Federation of Labor (AFL) assumed the labor movement mantle after the dissolution of the Knights of Labor. Offering a more moderate and less antagonistic approach of collective bargaining, the AFL soon set the stage for what would become the mainstay of American labor: a movement determined not to classify itself according to socialist values to which ironically embraced capitalism. By 1935, the labor movement earned its first tangible legislative victory with the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act. The Wagner Act was straightforward, advocating for the rights of individual workers to organize into unions and use collective bargaining power. American unions occasionally went on the offensive, such as by using strike orders to demand wage increases, but mainly unions functioned as defensive protections for workers to withstand problems like “sudden wage cuts, lay-offs, or firings,” or to “change what they see as dangerous working conditions or overly long hours,” (Domhoff, n.d., p. 1). The labor movement in the United States only rarely and sporadically moved beyond the narrow vision of unions as having the potential to wield meaningful social, economic, or political change. In fact, Godard (2009) points out that The Wagner Act was framed not in terms of social justice but merely as a “means to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce,” (p. 91). Labor unions had to appeal to the American principles of liberty and individualism in order to pass legal (and normative) muster. Moreover, the National Labor Relations Act expressly defined labor rights as individual rights and liberties, as supporting free choice for the worker and simultaneously upholding the rights of the employer to pursue profit. Even when it was at its most politically active, the American labor movement was not presenting itself as promoting ethical norms in business as much as it was marketing itself as a means by which each worker could pursue the American Dream. The dominant model of the American labor movement has been that of “business unionism,” a model that is uniquely American and based on the principle of “possessive individualism,” (Godard, 2009, p. 88). Business unionism stems from the approach taken by Samuel Gompers, who established the precedent in America for a non-partisan labor union, one that rejected state involvement and was necessarily pro-freedom. Within a business union model, the American labor movement thereby left the doorway forever open to the “right to work” policies of today. Americans workers are essentially pro-business, even when their demands seem antagonistic towards management and corporate power. Even the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO), which was initially a “inter-racial and egalitarian, class-based labor movement,” succumbed to the dominant model in which the worker did not interfere with the overarching capitalist institutions (Godard, 2009 p. 88). Class conflict was far less a driving force in early American union organization and development than it was in other industrialized nations. Peak Labor Anti-Communist sentiment, which started during the First World War and reached its peak during the Cold War, helped to solidify the business union/possessive individualism model that continues to prevail in American labor. In its fevered interest of driving out all traces of communism from its populace, the American government effectively banned the Industrial Workers of the World, setting a legal and normative precedent that any labor movement in America must conform to capitalist American values and identity (Godard, 2009). Ironically, perhaps, the American labor movement reached its peak during the Cold War in the 1950s. In the 1950s, one out of three non-farm worker was unionized; this was the “the peak of labor’s power,” (Rosenfeld, 2015, p. 1). In order to coincide with anti-Communist values, the labor movement needed to remain firmly committed to pro-capitalist, pro-pursuit of profit model that Gompers promoted. Even though labor unions in America started to align themselves with the Democratic Party by this time, they remained apolitical at their core, not pushing for broader social justice or intersectionality and avoiding critical issues within the labor rights movement in general like race and gender. Indeed, the labor movement never allied itself with the civil rights movement and had a “long history of racial discrimination” that worked against it (Domhoff, n.d., p. 1). In spite of how large and well-organized many labor unions seemed, they remained primarily driven by grassroots participation and were thus prone to leadership vacuums and rapid dissolution (Godard, 2009). Had unions forged firmer ties with government, it might have been possible to entrench the labor movement ethics of fairness and equity within a broader model of corporate social responsibility. Unions could not forge ties with government, though, because doing so would have seemed un-American; it would have seemed too communist in character. It was not just anti-Communist sentiment, but also widespread mistrust of government that led to the dismantling of socialist ethics within unions. Moreover, political disenfranchisement was an issue in unions with less than half of union members being registered to vote and those who did vote did not necessarily vote as a bloc (Domhoff, n.d.). Unions and their members were generally loathe to forge possibly fruitful ties with government largely because of the American mistrust of government and top-down union policies (Godard, 2009). American workers also wanted to retain the belief in the American Dream, which depended not on a welfare state but on the “sanctity of property and ownership rights,” (Godard, 2009, p. 83). The labor movement remained pro-business primarily because a penchant for “optimism, entrepreneurialism, and risk-taking” are embedded permanently in the American character (Godard, 2009, p. 83). Unlike their counterparts in other nations, American workers tended to be more socially and economically conservative, and less prone to left-wing rhetoric that bolsters the collectivist spirit that unions need to survive and thrive. It is precisely because of the American character, culture, and identity that the labor movement started to decline almost as soon as it was born. Of course, it is not fair to blame the ideology of the labor movement alone for causing its own demise. Overarching economic and political forces did have a large part to play in the decline of labor, right from the start. Business owners operating within a highly competitive marketplace, particularly a volatile and globalized one, rely on flexible wages to manage profit margins. Unions are antithetical to flexible wages, and practically by definition protect the wages of workers from the profit-driven fancies of corporate owners. Yet instead of pushing for power parity, union members continued to focus more narrowly on whatever immediate gains could be made for take-home wages, hours, and benefits. American labor unions basically experienced cognitive dissonance: on the one hand they protected the rights of workers; on the other hand, they set limits on those rights. Managers were therefore easily able to wield the power of the law in their favor, leading to the erosion of political and legal protections for labor unions and the principles they once stood for. In 1947, the government dealt the first serious legislative blow to unions by passing the Labor-Management Act of 1947, better known as the Taft-Hartley Act. The Taft-Hartley Act had several provisions, including allowing managers greater leeway in refusing to engage in collective bargaining with unions, outlawing core union practices like “ mass picketing and secondary boycotts,” and also severely restricted the establishment of unions in currently non-unionized business sectors (Domhoff, n.d., p. 1). The Taft-Hartley Act also paved the way for state-level “right to work” acts, which allow any worker to opt out of paying union dues even while still reaping all the benefits of union protection. “Right to work” acts weaken both the economic and political power of unions. Although union penetration reached its peak during the 1950s, the Eisenhower administration initiated the downfall of the labor movement. Eisenhower appointed conservatives to the National Labor Relations Board, bolstering corporate power and weakening unions. Inflation was also being blamed on unions (Domhoff, n.d.). Propaganda fueled anti-union sentiments, and continues to do so. Labor had been branded as being anti-American and also bad for the economy, viewed as “a monopoly on the supply of labor, and thus a kind of market inefficiency,” (Swanson, 2015).  Initial Decline The labor movement, which has been called “the institution most responsible for working- and middle-class prosperity” in the United States, was dying a slow death due to a number of interrelated reasons (Hogler, 2016, p. 1). The decline of labor in America also coincided with global trends witnessing reduced support for labor unions. Reasons like poor leadership, corruption, and a stronger corporate sector were all to blame but in the United States, the decline of unions was far more severe and rapid than it was in other nations (Godard, 2009). By 1978, the National Labor Relations Act was “all but dead,” due to ”an all-out and unrelenting battle against it by the entire corporate community from the day it was passed,” (Domhoff, n.d., p. 1). The proposed Labor Reform Act of 1978, a bill that “would have modernized and empowered unions through more effective recognition procedures accompanied by enhanced power in negotiations,” died via filibuster (Hogler, 2016). In 1980, only 23 percent of the work force was unionized, down from 30 percent in the 1950s (Hogler, 2016). The decline of the union movement reflected the trend in general towards social and fiscal conservatism in America. Anti-union rhetoric climaxed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which in turn gave rise to the Reagonomics model of trickle-down policies supporting the almost unbridled autonomy of corporations. Unregulated and unfettered, business interests were freer than they had been perhaps in the history of the country to make labor-related decisions based on profit metrics rather than on ethical principles. According to Rosenfeld (2015) Reagan also allowed for “a set of legal, semi-legal and illegal practices that proved effective at ridding establishments of existing unions and preventing nonunion workers from organizing,” (p. 1). Those practices have included hostilities such as “hiring permanent replacements for striking workers during labor disputes,” (Rosenfeld, 2015, p. 1). A general “distrust of centralized state power” enabled the erosion of worker rights, as workers did not want the government to interfere with their lives any more than managers wanted the government to enforce labor laws (Godard, 2009, p. 84). The growth of neoliberalism and the breaking down of barriers to international trade also helped to diminish the power of unions. Effectively, unions have been unable to properly overcome the challenge of a globalized labor market and the dictates of free trade. Continued Decline of Labor As of now, only 11% of the labor force is unionized, almost all of which is public sector (Hogler, 2016). When government jobs are excluded, the percentage of the American workforce that is unionized now hovers around six percent (Rosenfeld, 2015). In fact, current rates of union membership are at levels lower than they were before the New Deal and the Labor Relations Act (Goddard, 2009). Unions still enjoy some pockets of power in the United States. According to Swanson (2015), the most unionized state in the nation is New York, in which 71 percent of state government workers are unionized, compared to the 36 percent national average. “Alaska and Hawaii have the second and third highest rates of union membership, in part because government jobs make up a bigger share of their job markets than in other parts of the country,” (Swanson, 2015, p. 1). Outside of government sector jobs, unions have almost no clout. Labor movements never became popular at all in the American South, “largely due to political opposition,” and a lack of popular support (Swanson, 2015, p. 1). Due to a historically conservative working class that was never politically motivated or interested in wider reform beyond the narrow goals of fair wages, the labor movement has fizzled. Its decline has “weakened worker protections, kept wages stagnant and caused income inequality to soar to the highest levels in over eight decades. It also made workers feel they needed a savior like Trump,” (Hogler, 2016, p. 1). Rosenfeld (2015) also notes that the decline of unions has paralleled “the growth of economic and political inequality, stalled progress on racial integration and the removal of an established pathway for immigrant populations to assimilate economically,” (p. 1). The Trump administration is attempting to deal labor its final death blows, by expanding right-to-work laws (Hogler, 2016). Right-to-work laws already implemented in 26 states with many, including former union strongholds like New Hampshire and Ohio, currently in the process of passing similar laws (Hogler, 2016). However, the decline of labor has led to innumerable negative effects like wage stagnation (Swanson, 2015). As Rosenfeld (2015) also points out, labor unions have had net positive effects for both economic and social justice, leading to improved wages throughout all sectors including the non-unionized sectors, and for reducing gender and race disparities. The labor movement in America has declined because it has traditionally clashed with traditional, conservative American values. As the demographic and ideals of the next generation change, perhaps the labor movement may experience growth and revitalization. Although it seems the labor movement might never recover or reorganize itself into something more viable than it has been in the past, its “fate is not yet sealed” (Godard, 2009, p. 82). There is some small room for optimism, and the benefits of the labor movement continue to be clear. For example, unions have been responding to right-to-work laws and other anti-labor legislation by changing their membership policies to include options for associate membership, and lobbying again for law reform (Godard, 2009). According to Godard (2009), the American labor movement has become “the most innovative and vital of any in the developed world,” (p. 83). Being able to trace the decline of the American labor movement to cultural, social, and political factors makes it easier for future generations to create more sensible, pragmatic, and visionary labor policies in the future.