More jobs, better benefits

Trends show that, as hiring increases, so does the prevalence of organized labor

By Sarah Lohman
CIB Staff Writer

For the first time in more than a year, the productivity in the United States dropped. This drop in productivity could lead to an increase in hiring and a path out of the ongoing economic recession.

The Labor Department says worker productivity declined at an annual rate of 0.9 percent in the second quarter after posting large gains throughout 2009. Unit labor costs edged up 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the first increase since the spring of 2009.

Economists said a slowing in productivity would be a welcome development if it translates into more hiring.

An upswing in hiring could also be the first step toward an increase in organized labor.

"Unions, like a lot of things, like the economy, they kind of cycle," Michael Everett said. "There was a time in this country when 40 percent of the population belonged to a union. ... A very significant portion of the population, they belonged to unions. Barbers, bartenders, waitresses, everybody belonged to a union."

Everett, the business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said he has seen organized labor cycle several times during his 35 years working as a union electrician and now as the business manager of the union.

A large population of unionized workers made it possible for the working class to negotiate contracts and substantially improve the standard of living for everyone in the country, Everett said.

"Unions were formed out of necessity by working people who were trying to get in a position where they could sit down with their boss and bargain reasonable wages for reasonable work," Everett said. "One of the things that's happened in this country is the productivity of American workers continues to be on the rise, but their portion of the benefits or productivity seem to be less and less and less."

Productivity rose by large amounts during the recession. Companies slashed their payrolls and pushed unemployment up to the highest levels in more than two decades.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 12.4 percent of the workforce is unionized. A Gallup poll conducted in August 2010 found that, although a small percentage of the work force is actually organized, 52 percent of Americans approve of organized labor.

"I'm optimistic about the future of labor because I see all the reasons for people needing, wanting to form unions cycling back around again," Everett said. The attitude now is ,"If you don't like it, there's the door," Everett said, making it harder for workers to demand their fair share without fear of being fired.

"That balance is no longer there, the balance that used to set labor and management down at a table where they can negotiate something fair," Everett said. "It's kind of switched from being a negotiation to dictation. Somebody tells you, 'This is what it is. If you don't like it, there's the door.' When workers in general are in that position, they're no longer in a position to get a fair share of the pie."

Locally, Ameren has had to cut costs, often leaving their independent contractors without work.

Economic downturns often lead to neglect of things like bridges, roads and energy infrastructure. Eventually, these things must be repaired and jobs are created.

Everett said he foresees the younger generation of the work force getting fed up with low wages and large workloads and then organizing.

"I'm encouraged by the younger generation. They're independent thinkers, they're strong-willed, they're just not going to be taken advantage of forever," Everett said.

Interest in and passion for organized labor ebbs and flows, just like politics, Everett said. People get frustrated and throw up their hands but soon regret that decision because when people fail to participate it can hurt the regular working man. Frustration and dissatisfaction drive the organization of labor, and as the economic recession eases, Everett predicts that unions will grow.

"There's going to be a huge need for workers and it's going to coincide with the baby boomers being too old to work there's going to be this giant swing the other way, it's going to be a forced issue. When it swings that way, the number of people who are employed is going to grow and workers at some point are not going to tolerate the way they have been treated. They're going to demand a fair share."

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