In Honor of Those Who Labor

(Note to my readers:  To commemorate Labor Day and salute those who labor, today’s posting was written by Dr. George W. Hopkins, professor emeritus of American history at The College of Charleston, as my guest columnist.  A highly edited version of this posting [edited for length] appeared in last week’s Charleston City Paper.) 

Today is Labor Day, the day when the nation honors the working women and men who worked to build this country and make it prosperous. It is also the time to remember the achievements of the organized labor movement in the United States. Unionized workers correctly refer to themselves as “the folks who brought you the weekend.”

Many of the basic rights and benefits that are often taken for granted, such as the 8-hour workday and a 5-day workweek, were not willingly handed to workers by benevolent employers. Workplace changes came through perseverance and struggle.  Gaining legal recognition of workers’ rights to a voice in management and working conditions required the hard work and dedication of thousands of union men and women. They marched, protested, went on strike, boycotted, organized, voted, lobbied, sacrificed and were injured or killed to win these rights.

Today, union workers enjoy higher pay, superior benefit packages (including health insurance), and better pensions and retirement programs than nonunion workers. Yet unions today represent less than 7 percent of the private sector workforce. Unionization rates are significantly higher for public sector workers than private sector workers. Private sector workers who want to unionize face harassment, intimidation, illegal firing, threats of factory relocation or closure, and other retaliatory management actions.  This year, Labor Day is a call to action to defend the civil and economic rights of all working people and to oppose the repeal of such rights for public sector workers. Remember how we all hailed the brave firefighters, EMTs and police in NYC on 9/11/01?  All were and are proud public sector union members.

Today, manufacturing jobs continue to be “outsourced” while the low-wage service sector grows, paying most of its workers the minimum wage $7.25 an hour with no benefits– and most workers there often get less than 40 hours work per week. Fast food restaurants have similar policies.  Because people cannot survive on these low wages and part-time hours, they must rely on food stamps, Medicaid and hospital emergency rooms for health care.  This means that taxpayers (you and I) are subsidizing these companies’ refusal to pay a living wage with benefits. While we in America subsidize low worker pay, these companies make record profits, avoid taxes and hide their money through offshoring banking and other subterfuges — and their CEOs “earn” millions in salaries, benefits and stock options.  In 2024, the USA has the worst economic inequality since 1929.

Yet workers are succeeding in organizing unions — an Amazon warehouse on Long Island, numerous Starbucks locations and now a Chipotle have unionized. Workers at other fast-food outlets have voted to unionize, many aided by the Union of Southern Service Workers. But managers and corporations have resisted. The National Labor Relations Board has upheld numerous unfair labor practice complaints. New NLRB rules, a result of the Cemex case, will make the process easier. If a majority of workers sign union cards, the company must either immediately recognize the union or petition the NLRB to hold a union election. “However, if an employer who seeks an election commits any unfair labor practice that would require setting aside the election, the petition will be dismissed, and — rather than re-running the election — the Board will order the employer to recognize and bargain with the union,” the NLRB announced in a statement on 8-25-23.

In Charleston, S.C., the Charleston Alliance for Fair Employment (CAFE) secured a major grant to establish a Charleston Workers Center (CWC). Their first public event was a “Charleston Workers’ Rights Workshop” to let workers know their rights under South Carolina and federal law. The successful event was well attended.  More workshops are being planned. This workers’ center joins other such centers around the country in a network of worker advocacy groups. Google the CWC for more information.

Established unions have done quite well for their members recently. The United Auto Workers [UAW] won a big strike against the Big 3 US auto manufacturers. The UAW gains included a 25 percent pay raise over the next four years and automatic cost of living increases. President Biden joined the UAW picket line, the first time a president has done so. Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee has belonged to teachers’ unions — the AFT and the NEA. Meanwhile, Volkswagen  workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted to join the UAW by 73-27 percent — the first time a foreign-owned, Southern auto plant has unionized. In addition, Minor League Baseball players have unionized. So have more public sector workers. Cultural workers in museums and other venues are now receptive to unionizing.

Americans support these union efforts. A Gallup poll showed that 71 percent of Americans have favorable views of unions, which is the highest approval rate since 1965. This reflects, in part, the experiences of those who went through the Great Recession, which bailed out banks and corporations—but not workers with mortgages or rent to pay. It also reflects the experiences of Americans who went through the Great Pandemic and found that “essential workers”  were still poorly paid—and that many companies had no concerns about employee health and safety.

Strong support for union also reflects the awareness that the labor movement in the United States led or played major roles in the struggles to:

• End child labor,
• Establish the legal right of workers to form unions and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions,
• Establish the 8-hour workday and paid overtime time,
• Win workers’ compensation benefits for workers injured on the job,
• Secure unemployment insurance for workers who lose their jobs,
• Secure a guaranteed minimum wage,
• Improve workplace safety and reduce on-the-job fatalities,
• Win pensions and retirement programs for workers,
• Win health care insurance for workers,
• Obtain paid sick leave, vacations and holidays as standard benefits for many workers,
• Win the right for public sector workers to collectively bargain, which, unfortunately, is not applicable in South Carolina and most other “right-to-work” (for less) states,
• Win, in coalition with civil rights organizations, passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including Title VII, which outlaws job discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex  or national origin, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
• Win passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act,
• Win passage of the Family Medical Leave Act,
• Win passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
• Win passage of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,
• Win passage of the Affordable Care Act,
• AND continue to defend the hard-earned rights of working people in America.