So in this part of Connecticut Labor Day weekend wasn't that great. It rained off and on all three days. A fitting end to a summer that was not that great from a weather standpoint. We either had lots of rain and cool temperatures, or sizzling heat waves with high humidity. Very little awesome weather in between.
Just a quick write-up for the holiday. As could have been predicted the local paper with its straight from Fox News editorial page decided the best op-ed piece for Labor Day would come from the president of a National Right to Work legal defense association. It was a rant that attacked "union bosses" and all the political lobbying that union dues supports. And of course it lionized those brave men and woman, rugged individualists, who turn their backs on unions, who don't want their union dues going for political activity. It blamed these union bosses and their excesses of course for the reason union membership has sunk to an all-time low.
Yes if only those union bosses had limited themselves to only fighting for higher wages and better benefits. Then I'm sure that op-ed writer and his organization would have been supportive of their efforts. Right.
On Labor Day 2013 we should remember a few basic facts. As the percentage of the work force that is unionized has steadily dwindled so has the salaries/wages and purchasing power of average Americans, both union and non-union. There is pretty much a one-to-one correlation between the two. It is not too difficult to figure out the connection. Even when unions only made up 25% of the work force, the threat of unions influenced employers. They knew they had to at least come close to matching union wages and benefits, either to retain their better workers, or to prevent their own workforce from unionizing. With that threat gone corporations now put more and more of their profits into the pockets of Wall Street investors and upper management. The average workers get crumbs.
It isn't just a matter of fairness, it's a matter of sustainability and what works. Putting more and more money into fewer and fewer hands is a great way to kill an economy, and a democracy for that matter. The demand is sucked out of the economy. And with so much power and wealth in so few hands the very policies and institutions, the rules of the game, are changed and warped to benefit those already holding most of the chips.
As depressing as all that sounds it is also what ultimately gives me hope. The fact that our current policies and system are not sustainable. If we don't do more for average American workers and give them more opportunity and more hope by putting more money in their wallets, the whole system will end up collapsing and we will be forced to follow saner, more rational and fairer policies. It's just that a lot of people are suffering and eve
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