Unions & Civic Engagement

Unions & Civic Engagement: How the Assault on Labor Endangers Civil Society

Andy Stern

Abstract: American trade unions are a crucial segment of civil society that enriches our democracy. Union members are stewards of the public good, empowering the individual through collective action and solidarity. While union density has declined, the U.S. labor movement remains a substantial polit- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 ical and economic force. But the relentless attacks by the political right and its corporate allies could lead to an erosion of civic engagement, further economic inequality, and a political imbalance of power that can undermine society. The extreme assault on unions waged by Republicans in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michi- gan, and at a national level must be countered by a revitalized labor movement and by those who understand that unions are positive civil actors who bring together individuals who alone have little power. Unions need both structural reform and greater boldness; there are moments in which direct action and dramatic militancy can bring about positive social change. The current assault on labor can be rebuffed, and unions can expand their role as stewards for the public good and as defenders of efforts by the 99 percent to reduce inequality and protect democracy.

The school board members didn’t see it coming. The parents at the school’s town hall meeting seemed to accept that enough had been done about the safety of kids on and near school grounds. Time to move on. But then Lucia, an immigrant from Mexico with an eighth-grade education, took the floor. A janitor in a West Los Angeles of½ce building and the mother of two young sons, she soon captured the crowd with her outspoken complaints about why administrators were not doing more to ensure a safe place for learning. ANDY STERN is a Senior Fellow Other parents admired Lucia, who not only had at Columbia University’s Rich- the courage to confront school of½cials, but also man Center for Business, Law, and had the ability to sum up parental concerns in a Public Policy. He was President of clear way that ultimately brought necessary and the Service Employees Interna- tional Union from 1996 to 2010. He overdue safety improvements to a school plagued is author of the book A Country that by gang violence. Works: Getting America Back on Track “I was a very timid person, honestly, a very timid (2006). person,” Lucia recalled of the period soon after she

119 How the had arrived in the United States in the unions and community groups to form Assault early 1990s. “If I had to speak in public, I the New York Civic Participation Project, on Labor Endangers would turn red and would not know what which seeks to galvanize workers around Civil Society to say.” Then she became involved with the jobs and civic issues in their neighbor- Justice for Janitors campaign of Service hoods, such as Queens, Bushwick, Wash- Employees International Union (seiu) ington Heights, and the South Bronx. In Local 1877 in Southern California.1 Miami, United for Dignity, an indepen- Over time, participation in the union dent nonpro½t started by 1199/seiu helped Lucia acquire the knowledge and United Healthcare Workers East, offers con½dence that later enabled her to speak leadership classes to low-wage immi- out at her sons’ school and in other public grant workers. And in Boston, worker seiu

settings. “When we were trying to deal centers originally created by Local Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 with overcrowding at the school, I brought 615 provide English-language training, a lot of people to the meetings–my sis- teach computer and leadership skills, and ters, the neighbors, other parents,” Lucia build ties to other community-based said. Applying the training she had organizations. Many unions engage in received in the union local, she used her similar efforts, both with immigrant new civic skills to rally collective action workers and the broader union member- that often got results. ship. The sociologist Veronica Terriquez has studied the seiu janitors’ local and American trade unions are a crucial examined levels of civic engagement segment of civil society that enriches our among union members, including Lucia, democracy. Unions often give a voice at with schoolchildren. “The ½ndings sug- work and in the community to those who gest that union members–indepen- individually lack power, particularly those dently and without prompting from the on the bottom rungs of our economy: union–draw upon their acquired skills immigrants, low-wage workers, people to effect change in their lives,” Terriquez of color, and other economically disad- writes. “People learn to run meetings, vantaged groups. communicate problems effectively, and Every day across our country, union use existing processes and protocols. workers like Lucia not only perform their This empowers people to help them- jobs and contribute to America’s eco- selves and their children.”2 nomic growth and prosperity. They also The study found that mobilizing union volunteer at homeless shelters, coach in protests and participating in union-led youth sports programs, teach Sunday campaigns helped the Latino immigrants School, walk long miles in fundraising transcend barriers, including limited events for breast cancer awareness, regis- English language skills and low formal ter others to vote, and so on. These union education levels. In essence, the janitors’ members are stewards of the public involvement with their union led to good. Their daily acts of citizenship, like greater civic engagement. those of many other Americans, often do During my time as president of seiu, I not come cloaked in the union label. saw ½rsthand many examples of worker While these acts flow from the innate empowerment through labor-initiated desire people have to build a better programs like those in Los Angeles that world, those among the millions of union helped Lucia. In New York City, for exam- families bene½t from both an organiza- ple, seiu Local 32bj joined with other tional framework and a philosophical

120 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences core. Unions empower the individual, ing of society to counter the assault Andy Stern but they do so through collective action waged against them, most recently by and solidarity. Republican governors and legislators The janitors in Los Angeles fought hard in states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, and struggles with antiunion employers, but Michigan. workers stuck together and won decent Emboldened by gains in the 2010 elec- wages and bene½ts, as well as a voice at tions, conservative leaders in those states work.3 Their union-won economic gains and elsewhere pushed quickly to abolish enable them to buy the products and or severely restrict collective bargaining services made and provided by other by unions representing public employ- workers and to pay taxes to support needed ees, teachers, and others. The Republi-

public services, such as schools, roads, Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 cans hoped to weaken labor, but in fact clean water, ½re½ghting, and police sparked a resurgence of union and pro- forces. Much harder to quantify on a bal- gressive activism. Within months, the ance sheet are all those daily acts by backlash resulted in some gop legisla- unionists that contribute to the common tors being recalled and a successful state- good, whether they occur at school board wide vote in Ohio overturning the law meetings, church cafeterias, or environ- curbing union bargaining rights. mental cleanups in the neighborhood. The union mobilization in Ohio, Wis- Those are moments of civic good that consin, and Michigan underscores that help bond our society and make it better. trade unions are civic actors that engage Unions empower workers in a variety far beyond collective bargaining. By bring- of sectors that are increasingly marginal- ing together individuals who alone have ized by the problems of our current eco- little power, unions join workers into a nomic and political system: force that regularly contributes to positive • Labor, for example, speaks for manufac- outcomes in the workplace and broader turing workers who continue to lose arenas, including elections and legisla- jobs to technology and outsourcing of tion. work to other countries where labor is Much of the important social legisla- far cheaper. tion that has built a better society came about because of the strong political sup- • Labor gives a voice to teachers and port of labor. Unions backed civil rights school support workers, who are under legislation, Social Security, Medicare, harsh attack from many directions environmental laws, wage and hour laws, even as their unions push for greater the ban on child labor, and much more. resources for schools and improved In recent years, unions such as seiu have teacher performance. given strong support to the struggle for • Organized labor helps health care work- marriage equality and for lgbt rights. ers stand up against unwise changes in Labor’s collective bargaining gains over Medicare and Medicaid funding that many years have helped bring important will hurt the most vulnerable in our progress for all Americans. The bumper society, such as disabled individuals sticker “Unions–The Folks Who Brought who need home care assistance to live You The Weekend” highlights, for exam- decent lives. ple, labor’s role in achieving the forty-hour work week at a time when most Ameri- • Unions enable public workers who pro- cans were forced to work longer hours. vide services necessary to the function-

142 (2) Spring 2013 121 How the Few such gains seem possible in 36.2 percent of public-sector workers Assault today’s harsh antiunion climate. Those at belonged to unions–one factor in the on Labor Endangers the very top of our society in terms of recent round of campaigns against public Civil Society wealth, income, and power have captured employees. Over the last half-century, virtually all of our society’s economic union levels in the private and public sec- gains in recent years. Suffering is worsen- tors have swapped places. Unionization ing for those at the bottom, and the rates in the public sector at the end of broader middle class is rapidly eroding. World War II were below 10 percent, Unions are one of the few forces that can while the private sector was at 36 percent. help counterbalance this increased power While union density has declined, the of corporations and the wealthy. actual numbers make clear that the

The Occupy movement, which began American labor movement remains a Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 in a park in New York City as a protest substantial force. The Bureau of Labor against Wall Street’s abuses and the cor- Statistics reports that unions represented rosive power of multinational corpora- 16.3 million wage and salary workers in tions over our democratic process, went 2010. Of those, 14.7 million were them- on to de½ne the inequality issue power- selves union members, and 1.6 million fully and simply as the 99 percent versus had jobs covered by–and bene½ting the 1 percent. Unions are a crucial and from–union contracts. When family incontestable component of that 99 per- members are included, unions represent cent, seeking greater economic and polit- a sizable and important bloc of people ical fairness. despite lower union membership rates. (Declines in membership cannot simply Today, the tremendous resources devot- be taken to mean that fewer Americans ed to harsh attacks on unions by gop want unions to represent them. Other political candidates and of½ceholders, factors, such as the decline of unionized conservative pundits such as Glenn Beck manufacturing through off-shoring and and Rush Limbaugh, and their corporate displacement of jobs owing to new tech- and right-wing allies might lead one to nologies, have contributed to fall off in think that labor has gained massive union membership. The economic col- power over America’s businesses and lapse that began in 2008 has also been a politics. But a clear look at the current factor.) state of unions provides a different and Unions are still a powerful force in key more complex picture. In reality, unions states as well. New York, for example, is have signi½cantly less agenda-setting home to 2 million union members (24 power than the gop would have voters percent) and California to 2.4 million believe; yet they still function as a (17.5 percent). Not unexpectedly, the signi½cant counterweight to other, less- eight states with union membership rates democratic power centers of American below 5 percent in 2010 were all in the life. South, with the lowest being North Car- The union membership rate in 2010 olina (3.2 percent).5 was 11.9 percent, down from 12.3 percent It pays to belong to a union that can the previous year4 and down from about bargain collectively for its members. 36 percent in 1945. The percent of wage Despite declining membership rates, and salary workers who were members of workers who belong to unions had me- unions in the private sector in 2010 dian weekly earnings far above their dropped to 6.9 percent. By contrast, some nonunion counterparts. In 2010, union

122 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences members took in $917 per week, com- ers today comes because of the declining Andy Stern pared to only $717 per week for nonunion union membership rates that erode workers.6 labor’s ability to win a fair share of the One of labor’s contributions to the economic pie. Increasingly, larger and broader good over the years has been that larger pieces of that pie go to sharehold- many Americans not in unions have seen ers, executives, Wall Street bankers, and their wages and bene½ts improve as a others at the top. result of union gains at the bargaining table. In their efforts to keep unions out, The Occupy movement, and the alliances employers have had to raise pay, at times that unions formed with it in 2011, repre- provide health care/pensions, and even sented popular dissatisfaction with the

treat workers with more dignity on the status quo–a status quo that has arisen Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 job. Even opponents of labor tend to con- as unions have been vili½ed and have lost cede that a rising union tide lifts many leverage to ½ght for a fair share of eco- nonunion boats, particularly in tight nomic gains not only for their members, labor markets. That may be one reason but for the American middle class in gen- why historically pacesetting unions, such eral. It is stunning, in fact, that weekly as the United Auto Workers (uaw), have earnings for rank-and-½le employees been vili½ed in recent years. Employers today have not increased in real terms for and union opponents understand that decades. Some segments of the current forcing concessions in flagship collective workforce now earn less in real terms bargaining sectors can help slow, and than they did thirty years ago. even reverse, worker gains throughout Government data released in October the economy, union and nonunion. 2011 revealed that median pay for all One might hope that more Americans American workers fell in 2010 to $26,364, would examine the strong contracts down 1.2 percent from the previous year. negotiated by the uaw, Teamsters, Median pay was at the lowest level, after police/½re½ghters, seiu, and other unions adjusting for inflation, since 1999. Cer- and say: “Look at the good wages and tainly, factors such as increased global- bene½ts they have; what do we need to do ization, expanded use of technology, new to get our employers to start paying the entrants into the workforce, and the eco- same?” Too often, however, the argu- nomic collapse that began in 2008 all ment is made that union workers have it contributed. But another major factor is too good and they should be brought the decline in the bargaining power of down. That is the path to the low-road unions. economy we are on, rather than the high- Research on income numbers by David road economy that we need–and that Madland and Nick Bunker at the Center other nations, such as Germany, have for American Progress has found that if achieved. unionization rates increased by 10 per- The United States needs a prosperous centage points–to roughly the level they middle class if it is to be economically were at in 1980–the typical middle-class strong. Henry Ford understood this near- household, unionized or not, would earn ly a century ago when he increased Ford $1,479 more. “One thing is clear,” the workers’ pay dramatically because he study’s authors argue, “stronger unions wanted them to be able to afford to buy make a stronger middle class.” They con- the cars they were building. Some of the tinue: downward economic pressure on work-

142 (2) Spring 2013 123 How the A stronger middle class is the foundation an inequality gap, nor do we see the Assault for a vibrant American economy. [Unions] broad corporate and right-wing attack on on Labor Endangers ensure that workers are considered in cor- unions that characterizes our current Civil Society porate decision-making and provide job American dilemma. German employers training that helps workers advance in generally work cooperatively with their careers. In the political arena, unions get unions. Both custom and statute require workers involved to boost voting rates, and that unions and works councils have key are champions of economic programs that decision-making powers. create a strong middle class. They pushed Instead of the U.S. model of weakening for and have defended Social Security, unions, Germany’s model of a strong Medicare, family leave, the minimum wage, labor movement has helped yield higher

and more recent policies, such as health wages than those in America, huge trade Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 care reform.7 surpluses, six weeks of annual vacation time, and other bene½ts by law. As op- Other research by sociologists Bruce posed to the anti-labor warfare that we Western and Jake Rosenfeld has found have seen in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Mich- that the decline of unions accounts for igan, German employers, labor, and gov- one-third of the rise in inequality in the ernment normally all pull together. Not United States over the last thirty years.8 everything is rosy, and there are excep- Inequality is the enemy of a strong democ- tions in Germany; but results there show racy that has the vital civic engagement alternative approaches that could strength- of its citizens. The share of pretax income en labor-management outcomes here. taken by the richest 1 percent of Ameri- cans more than doubled between 1974 and 2007, rising to 23 percent from 9 percent The assault on organized labor in the according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And United States comes at a time when the ultra-rich, the top 0.1 percent of Amer- Americans of all demographics and per- icans, took an astounding 12.3 percent of suasions need to act collaboratively to America’s total pretax income–four develop creative new ideas to move our times what they took in the mid-1970s. economy into the twenty-½rst century, Some pundits argue that workers are and to put our country back on a path of just caught up in a world economy where sustainable growth. The German exam- inequality is inevitable. But a study by ple is illustrative of the economic power, Thomas Harjes, an economist for the and social prosperity, that arises from a International Monetary Fund, reported healthy working relationship between that from the late 1970s to the early organized labor, companies, and govern- 2000s, inequality in Europe “rose mod- ment. estly or even declined” while it skyrock- I sometimes hear people (some of them eted in the United States. Those Euro- liberals) argue that unions were needed pean countries where unions were strong earlier in our country’s history when faced the same globalization and tech- abuses such as child labor and unrelent- nology challenges, yet did not develop ing work hours were real problems. Now, the wide inequality gap seen in the Unit- they assert, unions have outlived their ed States. France, for example, saw a usefulness in the modern economy. When decline in inequality over the last twenty one reads of janitors at the nonunion years, according to Harjes.9 company Wal-Mart being locked inside Germany, as noted above, has a strong stores for their entire shifts, coal miners labor movement and has not developed killed in disasters like the nonunion

124 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences Massey tragedy in West Virginia, and the occur in most workplaces? The clearest Andy Stern Latina women at Chef Solutions in Con- reasons involve the harsh antiunion cam- necticut being forced to trade sex with paigns waged by companies and their managers to keep their jobs, it is dif½cult hired consultants, as well as the overall to ignore how weak this argument really weakness of our labor laws and their is. Unions need to adapt their practices enforcement, as Dine has pointed out. In for a new era, but there is no discounting a 2007 study, the Center for Economic their necessity in protecting the rights of Policy Research found that one in ½ve workers. active union supporters is ½red illegally The constant anti-labor drumbeat from as a result of union organizing activities.12 corporate powers, the right wing, and Another study, by labor expert Kate

much of the media, led by Fox News, has Bronfenbrenner, reported that 80 percent Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 an impact on our society and its workers. of employers who face a union organiz- But there are many indicators that a sub- ing campaign force workers to go through stantial number of workers would choose one-on-one, captive-audience meetings to be represented by a union if they in which they pressure workers with could. In 2007, a poll by Peter D. Hart threats, such as the closing of the Research Associates found that among plant/workplace or transfer of work else- nonunion workers, a majority (53 per- where.13 Only about 1 percent of compa- cent) said they would vote to have a nies make good on threats to close, but 51 union tomorrow, given a free choice.10 percent of them threatened such closures Were that to occur, more than sixty million (even though it is illegal to do so). Bron- workers would be added to the union fenbrenner also found that more than rolls. As the veteran labor expert Philip half of the employers with immigrant Dine writes, “If even one-quarter of workers threaten to call immigration those 60 million workers actually formed of½cials during union drives. unions, the size of the labor movement Human Rights Watch, which conducts would double overnight.”11 highly respected objective examinations The harshness of today’s economy has of abuses occurring around the world, added to support for labor. In 1984, only focused more than a decade ago on Amer- 30 percent of nonunion workers polled ican workers’ freedom to form unions said they would vote to join a union if they and engage in collective bargaining. “Our could. That support rose to 39 percent in ½ndings are disturbing, to say the least,” 1993, 42 percent in 2001, and then 53 per- said the study’s authors. “Loophole-ridden cent in 2007. The desire to have union laws, paralyzing delays, and feeble en- representation thus grew over a period forcement have led to a culture of impu- when employers’ economic and political nity in many areas of U.S. labor law and power expanded and that of labor weak- practice. Legal obstacles tilt the playing ened. It is no coincidence that the con- ½eld so steeply against workers’ freedom centration of wealth at the upper echelon of association that the United States is in of society and the downturn of a prosper- violation of international human rights ous economy occurred at a time when standards for workers.”14 A similar study workers’ voices were often suppressed by today would ½nd the situation even worse. employers and antiunion politicians. The modest reforms in the Employee What explains the gap between those Free Choice Act proposed after the 2008 majorities now expressing support for election would have helped restore some joining unions and the failure of that to balance and would have given workers a

142 (2) Spring 2013 125 How the fair chance to join unions. But that did stands out. Their actions in 2011 not only Assault not occur, largely due to the ½libuster denied workers the right to collective bar- on Labor Endangers process in the Senate. gaining, but violated both international Civil Society Labor issues are not the only ones norms described below and also, inextri- derailed by the ½libuster and other forms cably, delivered a harsh blow to the prin- of political obstructionism. The threat of ciples of civic engagement that uphold ½libusters has effectively required a super- and strengthen a robust democracy. majority of sixty votes in the Senate to Although much of the attack on unions pass legislation. This severely weakens following the 2010 elections has been at democracy and undermines civic engage- the state level, it can be seen also at the ment by discouraging the sense among national level: in the Republican-con-

workers and the broader public that pos- trolled House of Representatives and on Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 itive change can occur if people work the campaign trail for the 2012 gop pres- hard to win popular support for it. As we idential nomination. Mitt Romney, the look to the future, it is hard to see mean- 2012 Republican presidential candidate ingful labor law reform absent a change (and one perhaps less extreme than oth- in the ½libuster rules, even if a majority of ers he defeated for the nomination), the Senate and House as well as the presi- repeatedly blasted unions during his dent and the public all support it (as they campaign appearances. He lavished praise did early in President Obama’s tenure). on Wisconsin Governor Walker for win- The inability to win a supermajority to ning passage of the bill to outlaw public- pass labor law reforms and the renewed sector bargaining, and he ended up sup- attacks on labor following the 2010 elec- porting Ohio Governor Kasich’s sweep- tions, particularly on public employees ing antiunion agenda that then was and teachers, bode ill for the future, rejected overwhelmingly by Ohio voters despite President Obama’s reelection and in November 2011. Democrats’ success in 2012 Senate races. Romney in mid-October 2011 reversed A key issue then is how labor can expand his earlier opposition to right-to-work civic engagement of its members if it laws and came out in strong support of must devote almost all its energy to sur- national right-to-work legislation that vival amidst this onslaught. would bar even union security agree- I strongly believe that the relentless ments requiring nonmembers to pay for attacks that weaken American unions will representational services. In his televi- likely lead to an erosion of civic engage- sion ads, Romney began to feature his ment in the United States, further eco- support for right to work. He also devot- nomic inequality, and a political imbal- ed great energy to attacking the National ance of power that can undermine socie- Labor Relations Board (nlrb), particu- ty. Those who support a democracy with larly on the now-resolved complaint ½led the thriving civil engagement of its citi- by nlrb Acting General Counsel against zens need to lend their voices in support Boeing’s decision to relocate work to of organized labor and necessary mea- South Carolina from Washington State in sures to strengthen unions, rather than order to retaliate against unionized work- allow the erosion that is occurring today. ers engaging in activities protected under The extreme and unacceptable assault on labor law.15 Romney went so far as to unions waged by Governors Scott Walker appoint Boeing’s lead counsel in the (Wisconsin), John Kasich (Ohio), Rick nlrb case as his labor advisor for the Snyder (Michigan), and others truly presidential campaign.16

126 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences Not to be outdone, Republicans in the questions. For example, the Nordic coun- Andy Stern House passed legislation on November tries, where democracy and civic engage- 30, 2011, to negate an nlrb rule that ment thrive, have very strong unions, sought to give workers a timely vote on very low levels of inequality, and good whether or not to be represented by a economic growth. Canada, our neighbor union, rather than the current procedure and trading partner to the north, has that allows long delays by employers strong unions (including seiu) and a opposed to unions. Although the Senate union density of above 30 percent–more is unlikely to pass such legislation, the than twice that of the United States. Ger- gop-led House persists in its war on many, as noted, has powerful trade unions labor. and tough laws that give workers a strong

Why? Harold Meyerson, a columnist voice in corporate decision-making. Yet Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 for The Washington Post, analyzed Repub- business thrives in these countries, and lican motives this way: everyone bene½ts from unions and management working together for common When it comes to elections, unions are still goals. the most potent mobilizers of the Demo- cratic vote–getting minorities to the polls oth the hostility of the corporate and and persuading members of the white B political right toward unions and labor’s working class to vote Democratic. Indeed, powerful role as a steward of the com- Republican gains among working-class mon good have roots in American histo- whites (whom they carried by an unprece- ry. Unions actually predate our country’s dented 63 percent to 33 percent in 2010) are, above all, the result of the deunioniza- founding, as some nonagrarian workers tion of that class. An analysis of exit polling pushed for a greater say than that of the 18 Despite over the past 30 years shows that unionized old master-servant relationship. current reverence for the founding fa- white working-class men vote Democratic thers, it is important to remember that at a rate 20 percent higher than their non- civic engagement and political democra- union counterparts. For political reasons, cy had clear limits in America’s opening Republicans are determined to deunionize workers even more.17 century and even beyond. Voting in most states was restricted primarily to white For unions to be a catalyst that encour- property-owning males. Women, Native ages and reinforces positive levels of civic Americans and people of color (both slave engagement by their members, unions and free), and most wage earners had have to exist in the ½rst place. The coun- their civic participation severely restrict- tries that scholars regularly judge to have ed by law, as John Kretzschmar, director the most vital civil societies often are those of the Brennan Institute for Labor Stud- in which unions thrive and are accepted, ies, has pointed out.19 usually as one of the three “social part- Judges here relied on British law in the ners” along with business and govern- absence of statutes on unions and bar- ment. gaining; as a result, America’s early unions I would challenge labor opponents, such were viewed as illegal criminal conspira- as those in Wisconsin, Michigan, and cies. Employers could form groups to Ohio and in the Republican-controlled advance their interests, but employees House, to name a true democracy that who did so by joining unions engaged in does not have a labor movement partici- illegal behavior. Over time, wage earners pating in the debates on major public who were not property holders agitated

142 (2) Spring 2013 127 How the and often got voting rights; workers also collective bargaining. After World War II, Assault began ½ghting for expanded rights on a consensus emerged that unions were on Labor Endangers economic matters. crucial to democratic societies as war- Civil Society Unions remained illegal conspiracies in torn nations sought to rebuild. Japan had many jurisdictions until the 1930s. As abolished unions, but General MacArthur unemployment rose to 25 percent by 1932, and the Allies restored them in 1946. a series of laws were passed that helped Most signi½cant from the standpoint of unions. The National Industrial Recov- civil engagement was the discussion and ery Act adopted in 1933 sought greater adoption, with U.S. support, of the Univer- fairness for workers through provisions sal Declaration of Human Rights by the that stated: “Employees shall have the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.

right to organize and bargain collectively The declaration is widely viewed as a cen- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 through representatives of their own tral pillar of international human rights choosing, and shall be free from the law. It spells out a range of rights to which interference, restraint, or coercion of em- every individual is entitled, including the ployers.” Although a conservative U.S. rights to life, liberty, equality of treatment Supreme Court quickly deemed the pro- before the law, freedom of movement, labor legislation unconstitutional, the right to own property, freedom of thought Wagner Act passed by Congress in 1935 and religion, freedom of expression, and led to expanded union organizing in the many others. Article 23 speci½cally pro- years that followed. vides: “Everyone has the right to form and By the end of World War II in 1945, to join trade unions for the protection of union membership rose to more than 14.3 his interests.” It also details other accept- million from about 8.7 million in 1940. ed rights, such as equal pay for equal work Predictably, as labor’s numbers and and decent working conditions. power expanded, political enemies mobi- The global concurrence about the right lized. A conservative Congress targeted to form and join unions was further solid- unions in 1947 with the Taft-Hartley Act, i½ed by what are commonly referred to as passed over President Truman’s veto; Core Labor Standards, a set of four inter- signi½cantly, he called it the “slave labor nationally recognized basic rights and act.” It severely limited labor’s right to principles that countries have agreed to strike, outlawed secondary boycotts, and follow. They are: freedom of association banned closed shops that required an and the right to bargain collectively; the employer to hire only union labor. Oppo- elimination of forced labor; abolition of nents of the legislation pointed out that it child labor; and the elimination of dis- had been drafted not by Congress, but by crimination in employment. corporate lawyers working for the Cham- The discussion of unions and civil soci- ber of Commerce and the National Asso- ety expanded signi½cantly as workers in ciation of Manufacturers.20 Eastern Europe struggled for democracy. Despite the setback of Taft-Hartley in In my late 20s, I watched Lech Walesa, the the United States, there remained a broad Polish trade union leader, rally shipyard and global consensus that labor was an workers in Gdańsk in a series of strikes important component of democracy. The that led to martial law and a vicious Nazi party viewed unions as a threat, and crackdown by the Communist govern- in 1933 Hitler seized funds of German ment. Walesa and the Solidarnosc union unions, arrested labor leaders, sent them movement went on to topple the repres- to concentration camps, and replaced sive regime in Poland.

128 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences President Reagan and many on the on to work as a metalworker in the São Andy Stern political right embraced the Solidarnosc Paulo auto industry. Lula led strikes dur- union very publicly and repeatedly. But ing the late 1970s and was jailed by the here at home, almost simultaneously, military junta. The skills he honed in the Reagan succeeded in busting the air traf½c union movement enabled him to go on to controllers’ union in 1981, setting off a become president of his country. war on labor that has yet to moderate. The crucial role that unions have (The bizarre affection the right has for played in Brazil, South Africa, and other unions abroad but not at home could be countries–from South Korea to Ger- seen yet again in late 2011 during the cam- many–contrasts with the United States, paign for the Republican presidential where the voices of corporations and their gop nomination. Former Senator Rick political allies in the 1 percent have dom- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Santorum issued a strong call in Iowa for inated public debate in recent years. This federal government support for labor has occurred for a confluence of reasons, unions–unions, that is, in Iran. Santorum but it is important for labor to take a hard wanted the United States to “have several look at itself and accelerate the process of avenues of getting money into Iran to change if workers are to play a signi½cant help striking labor unions.”21 But on role in shifting the status quo toward pro- labor issues on his home turf, Santorum gressive outcomes. wants to abolish unions that represent federal, state, and local workers; he regu- Just as unions in other countries have larly attacks the nlrb; and he opposes evolved to address tough challenges, so, most everything American unions sup- too, must American unions adapt and port.) change.22 Labor’s 2011 victory in Ohio, The civic role played by unions threat- overturning the harsh restrictions on col- ened those in power not only in Eastern lective bargaining rights by a 62-38 per- Europe, but also elsewhere in the world. cent margin, showed a strong reservoir of The ruling elites in El Salvador in the public backing for union rights and 1980s were complicit in the killing of underscored labor’s ability to reach trade unionists; tens of thousands died at beyond its own ranks to build broad the hands of military-backed death squads. coalition support. A similar show of pub- Under apartheid rule in South Africa, lic support for unions could be seen in independent black trade unions devel- California when voters rejected Proposi- oped negotiating and organizing skills, tion 32, which was backed by the anti- despite suffering torture and death. Labor union Koch brothers (Charles and David). was key to the broad mobilization in the That proposal would have decimated period from 1986 to 1994 that brought an labor’s ability to participate in the politi- end to apartheid; it was then minework- cal process. ers’ leader Cyril Ramaphosa who negoti- Nevertheless, many middle-class Amer- ated the transition to democracy, and icans have mixed views on unions, and many union leaders entered top levels of some feel strongly negative. Much of the post-apartheid government. hostility toward labor is driven by the Lula da Silva, the thirty-½fth president relentless antiunion drumbeat of the of Brazil, is another example of the im- right wing as well as corporate America. portant leadership roles unionists have But some is a by-product of labor’s own played in building civil society globally. shortcomings and the instances in which He left school after fourth grade and went unions have acted in ways that cut

142 (2) Spring 2013 129 How the against their role as stewards for society. role as a positive civic force is seen by the Assault Let me focus briefly on a few of the issues public. on Labor Endangers that have fed negativity toward labor. I think, too, of the case of Barbara Bul- Civil Society First, while unions have a lower rate of lock, the former president of the Wash- corruption than that found in either busi- ington, D.C., Teachers’ Union, who served ness or government, there still is a need ½ve years in prison for a scheme involv- for strong efforts by unions to root out ing the embezzlement of nearly $5 mil- wrongdoing within their own ranks. As a lion of union funds to pay for a lavish young activist in my seiu local union in lifestyle of fur coats, jewelry, trips, and Pennsylvania, I saw the corrupt president parties. Her actions unfairly tarred D.C. of the United Mine Workers, Tony Boyle, teachers who every day gave their all in

tried and convicted in federal court near tough classroom environments starved Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Philadelphia for the murder of his elec- of the resources needed to provide quali- tion opponent, Joseph “Jock” Yablonski, ty education for mainly poor kids. and Yablonski’s wife and daughter. Six The American Federation of Teachers years later, James R. Hoffa, who had led (aft) and the D.C. teachers’ union lead- the Teamsters union from 1957 to 1967, ers took appropriate action in that sad sit- went missing near Detroit never to be uation, but whatever damage done by found–presumably murdered by orga- Bullock’s malfeasance was minor com- nized crime elements opposed to his pared to that inflicted by a much broader regaining power within the union. Such and far more sophisticated attack on high-pro½le crimes, while infrequent, teachers’ unions in the years that fol- have severely harmed labor’s image over lowed. A sustained campaign has been the years. waged for some time based on the central Unions, as institutions with millions of (but false) premise that teachers’ unions members, are not immune to wrong- are a root cause of America’s education doing. During my tenure at seiu, I had to problems. trustee a large local in Los Angeles and Many who urge education reform are permanently ban from membership a people of good faith; but some, such as member of our International Executive the antiunion Walton family, who owns Board after evidence emerged that he had Wal-Mart, and Michelle Rhee, former misused member funds. In response, we D.C. school chancellor, are not. Improv- established a Commission on Ethics and ing education in America involves devel- Standards and named outside authorities oping and supporting our teachers, not to it, such as James Zazzali, former Chief constantly attacking them. A study Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, released in 2011 found that teacher as well as rank-and-½le members and morale in the United States was at a local union leaders. We sought to twenty-year low. Attacks by those like the strengthen an ethical culture in which Waltons and Michelle Rhee serve only to emerging leaders understand that they prevent a climate in which teachers, are the stewards of their members’ school administrators, parents, and oth- resources; this cannot be done in one ers can work together to build a more training session, but rather must be built effective student-centered educational into leadership development at all levels. system and mobilize to win adequate Tough internal controls also are needed funding for public education. so that unions protect the workers’ It will come as no surprise that I sympa- money and, more broadly, so that labor’s thize with the aft and the National Edu-

130 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences cation Association in this debate. But I do County’s educational program. School Andy Stern think the attacks on teachers’ unions employees voluntarily gave up scheduled have helped fuel a false narrative of raises in the last three years to help cope American labor as a special interest that with the budget crisis in the aftermath of sel½shly protects its own at the expense the economic downturn, yet the union has of the broader society. That narrative has protected important health and pension a special resonance with the public when bene½ts highly valued by its members.23 it involves America’s children, who in Another step in the right direction fact do deserve far better from our educa- occurred in November 2012, when the tion system. It is easy for teachers’ union teachers’ union in Newark, New Jersey, opponents to attack the “rubber rooms” rati½ed a historic agreement that rewards

in New York City, where tenured teachers teachers with higher pay and bonuses Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 accused of incompetence or wrongdoing based on performance. Newark teachers received full pay to sit in sparse rooms will have a seat at the table evaluating one and do nothing (until this practice was another, and the contract empowers a ended in 2010). It is far harder to shift the majority of teachers in any school with focus to innovative labor-management authority to decide issues such as how to partnerships, such as those in Cincinnati, adapt school schedules or how to use train- Oklahoma City, and Pittsburgh, where ing and preparation time as they deem in students are bene½ting from teachers and the best interests of their students.24 school administrators working together Public employees face a challenge sim- to transform schools servicing primarily ilar to teachers. Again, much of the attack low-income communities. on public workers is driven by forces The Washington Post, to its credit, last strongly hostile to unions. But labor’s year highlighted the success of the Mont- cause is hurt when citizens read of ½re- gomery County (md) Education Associ- ½ghters in St. Louis who receive large dis- ation, which has worked cooperatively ability pensions for being totally and per- with the school system there to win a role manently incapacitated, yet who go on to in personnel decisions, teacher training, work at new jobs involving physical labor and budget decisions. The teachers’ union while collecting those pensions. We all helped create a peer review system that honor our ½re½ghters for going into seeks to assist struggling teachers, but harm’s way to save lives, but support for also facilitates ½ring in cases where it is them and their union can erode if the clearly justi½ed. Contrary to the argu- public believes it is paying for a costly ment of “reformers” such as Michelle entitlement that is unfairly administered. Rhee who say that it is nearly impossible In California, an outcry occurred in 2010 to ½re a unionized teacher, more than ½ve when an administrator for the Forestry hundred have been dismissed or resigned Department retired with a check for in the last decade in Montgomery Coun- $294,440 for unused time off–one of ty with the union contract in place. At the nearly four hundred employees who left same time, the union has helped convince state jobs with checks equal to or exceed- school authorities that many of the “re- ing their previous year’s salary. Most forms” advocated by the Walton family, people understand that there needs to be Rhee, and others will not help students in some “banking” of time off when public the end. By emphasizing student achieve- workers, such as prison guards or public ment as their primary goal, the union has safety of½cers, are denied vacation or won a broad role in shaping Montgomery holidays due to emergencies or special

142 (2) Spring 2013 131 How the circumstances. But the backlash to the and seiu embraced the civil rights move- Assault huge payouts in California clearly hurt ment, fought racism in the workplace, on Labor Endangers public unions and played into the politi- and joined in the push for antidiscrimi- Civil Society cal narrative orchestrated by those whose nation legislation. Unions helped orga- primary goal is to weaken labor. nize the Montgomery bus boycott, joined Public employee unions needed over the Selma to Montgomery march in force, the years to break out from the narrow and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, constraints of traditional collective bar- Jr., who was assassinated while in Mem- gaining and negotiate instead not only phis to support striking union members. for wages and bene½ts, but also for the Given their mixed record through the delivery of high-quality public services. years, unions today need to face the chal-

Management usually resisted such efforts, lenge of becoming more diverse through- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 but public worker unions are gaining cit- out their leadership, from local unions to izen support by partnering with govern- the very top positions. I used to say fre- ment to improve public services. Citizens quently that union leaders are too often often are frustrated by inef½ciencies and “male, pale, and stale.” In seiu, more than bureaucracy and need to see public work- a million new members joined between ers siding with them in the effort to have 1996 and 2010, and a majority of them services delivered better and at fair cost. were women and workers of color. A con- Yet another problem unions must con- certed effort was made to reflect that in front is the need for greater racial, ethnic, our leadership, and by 2005 we had an and gender diversity in the labor move- executive board that was 40 percent ment. Looking back in history, African women and 33 percent people of color. Americans had to ½ght to join unions, But there is so much more that needs to and many American Federation of Labor be done in this area. (afl) unions in their early years barred Unfortunately, many other unions do blacks from membership, particularly in not do as well at reflecting the diversity of the crafts. My own union, seiu, by con- their memberships. If labor is to prosper trast brought together white and black in the decades ahead, all unions must do a janitors in Chicago in the early 1900s and, far better job of developing multicultural indeed, had an elected vice president and leadership that is more inclusive of women three executive board members who were and people of color. We need more peo- African Americans. By the 1930s, the ple like Mother Jones and A. Philip Ran- Congress of Industrial Organizations doph. I am proud that seiu is today led (cio), made up of industrial unions, by a woman, Mary Kay Henry, a veteran aggressively recruited black members labor organizer who also is a leader in and became an important force for America’s lgbt community, and Eliseo desegregation and antidiscrimination Medina, a respected ½gure in the Latino before many other segments of American community who has helped lead the na- society. tional immigration reform effort. In the 1960s, African Americans made As part of the broad effort for gender up about 25 percent of U.S. union mem- and racial equity, labor needs to embrace bers, but some unions, such as those in the movement for immigrant rights more the construction trades, continued to bar vigorously than it has so far. America black apprentices and otherwise limit needs comprehensive immigration reform African American membership. But at that provides a meaningful legal path to the same time, unions such as the uaw citizenship for undocumented workers.

132 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences In the past, unfortunately, some unions • Refocus on membership growth through Andy Stern saw immigrants from Mexico and Cen- reinvigorated organizing of nonunion tral America as threats to their jobs and workers; mistakenly supported bad immigration policies. Today labor is united in pushing • Modernize strategic approaches to for immigrant rights and works closely employers in the new, competitive glob- with grassroots coalitions of religious al environment; and community groups both for changes • Improve labor’s messaging to the in federal law and also in opposition to broader public, using all the tools of racist and reactionary laws recently enact- modern technology and communica- ed in states such as Arizona and Alabama. tion;

Unions need to be out front on the immi- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 gration issue both because it is the right • Widen efforts to build coalitions with thing to do and because they will bene½t citizens’ groups, civil rights advocates, church activists, environmentalists, as our country’s demographics grow more lgbt diverse in coming years. the community, and others who share a progressive outlook; and

As labor faces strong attacks from • Expand and improve labor’s political antiunion corporations and the political effectiveness by further involving right, there are a number of other changes workers and their families in the civic that must occur if it is to win and expand process.25 public support. I pressed to modernize and streamline union structures during In future, unions need to streamline. my tenure as seiu president. I based my Many members are divided into national suggestions for reform on changes that unions that do not have the size, strength, had been made within seiu over a num- resources, and focus to win for workers ber of years. Those changes enabled my against today’s ever-larger employers. As union to more than double, to 2.1 million the attack on public workers escalated, members, during my time in of½ce. After we had thirteen unions with signi½cant a long period of internal discussion with- numbers of public employees. Trans- in the afl-cio in the early to mid-2000s, portation workers were divided into ½fteen needed reforms did not seem likely. seiu different unions, health care workers and a group of other unions withdrew into more than thirty, and manufacturing and formed Change to Win. workers into nine. We need consolidation Unfortunately, real reform did not so that labor can bring size, power, and develop out of those events, and changes focus to the table. There are too many are still needed to strengthen unions. The small unions that lack what is needed to labor movement needs to: deliver for their members. When I pushed for change, only ½fteen of the sixty-½ve • Embrace the mission of seeking justice afl-cio national unions had more than for all workers, including, but not lim- two hundred ½fty thousand members, ited to, current union members; and forty had fewer than one hundred thousand. Many of these unions, even with • Confront labor’s own underlying structural impediments and those of its good leadership, do not have the strength af½liates; to unite more workers in their industry in order to improve workers’ lives and civic engagement.

142 (2) Spring 2013 133 How the I have proposed, as have others, that we matic militancy can change things. Labor Assault seek to unite the strength of workers who needs a greater boldness, like that evi- on Labor Endangers do the same type of work (or are in the denced by unemployed workers, stu- Civil Society same industry, sector, or craft) to take on dents and young people, those who suf- their employers. And we need to ensure fered home foreclosures, and others in that workers are in national unions with the diverse Occupy movement. the strength, resources, focus, and strate- At the onset, the media and many gy to help nonunion workers join togeth- politicians–conservative and liberal– er to improve pay, bene½ts, and working scoffed at Occupy for not serving up a conditions. This also means that unions ten-point program or outlining detailed will have to adopt new strategies of incor- legislative solutions to the problems it

porating nonunion workers into their protested. But as time passed, the Occupy Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 structures, and that they must constantly movement forced a broad and ongoing look to protect the rights of all workers national discussion about the central while simultaneously ½ghting for the issue of income inequality in America. rights of their own members. Unions did the right thing by supporting Because the economy today is global, Occupy while refraining from actions unions must speed the building of a global that would have infringed on its inde- labor movement. Transnational corpora- pendence. tions move country to country, without In the face of harsh police repression, national loyalties, to ½nd and exploit the Occupy receded from public focus in cheapest labor. Today’s global corpora- 2012, but Occupy still serves to remind tions have no permanent home, recog- labor of the importance of direct action nize no national borders, salute no flag and confrontation, which can yield more but their own corporate logo, and move results than speeches by union leaders at their money to anywhere they can make the National Press Club. This is particu- the most and pay the least. larly so in an era when strikes by unions Global ½rms have won trade agree- happen infrequently given the huge bal- ments that make it easier to move pro- ance of power currently possessed by duction, while providing no rights to employers. help workers improve pay, working conditions, and job security. The result of Workers going forward need to devel- globalization is that workers in any one op even more effective political action country cannot set and maintain high efforts; this is crucial to labor’s role as a labor standards without uniting to raise steward of the common good. With the standards everywhere. If American man- U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens ufacturing is to recover, unions need to United to allow unlimited political spend- work to level the global playing ½eld so ing by corporations, the challenge to that corporations are made to decide unions today is severe. While unions also where to locate their production opera- are free to spend politically, everyone tions based on where the best labor force knows that corporations can far outspend is, rather than the cheapest. labor and other progressive forces. I also believe that unions need to learn With the intensity of the 2012 cam- from the success of the Occupy move- paign now behind us, one cannot help ment, which helped shift the public de- but remember the movement of hope bate dramatically a year ago. There are that occurred at the beginning of the moments in which direct action and dra- Obama administration four years ago. It

134 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences came about in part because union mem- Underscoring its civic engagement Andy Stern bers did what the civic textbooks urge: role, the union had done extensive train- they participated in the electoral process. ing of members in their locals. Those seiu implemented a program a few skills had been honed in political races years ago called “Walk a Day in My from local school boards to state legisla- Shoes” that put politicians to the test. ture campaigns, House and Senate con- Candidates had to earn the union’s en- tests, and, of course, the presidency. dorsement in part by spending time at More than three thousand seiu mem- home and on the job with workers. So in bers and staff worked full-time in the August 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama 2008 Obama campaign, pounding the arrived before dawn at the home of Pauline pavement and talking with voters in seiu

Beck, an home care worker in Oak- nineteen target states. More than one Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 land, California.26 Together that day, hundred thousand seiu janitors, nurses, Beck and Obama helped John Thornton, home care and child care providers, and an 86-year-old former cement mason others volunteered to work after their with a broken hip and a prosthetic leg, get shifts and on weekends. out of bed, bathe, dress, eat breakfast, Data were not yet available for the 2012 and prepare for the day. Obama mopped elections at the time of this writing, but a floors, did some sweeping, and ran loads nationwide survey of seiu members of laundry. As seiu member Beck began commissioned by the union after the to outline more tasks for the future presi- 2008 election found that 77 percent voted dent, patient Thornton laughed and said, for Obama and 21 percent for McCain. Of “She’s working the hell out of him.” the nineteen states that seiu targeted, Other candidates, such as Joe Biden and Obama carried seventeen. seiu mem- Hillary Clinton, also got a taste of life as bers helped win eight of the eleven tar- an seiu member. Biden walked a day in geted Senate races and twenty-two of the shoes of school custodian Marshall twenty-nine targeted House races. seiu Clemons, and Clinton went through a workers knocked on 3,571,955 doors seek- shift with a registered nurse. John McCain ing support; made 16,539,038 political and the other gop candidates all declined phone calls during that election cycle; sent to participate. out 5,125,378 pieces of campaign mail; seiu members also challenged presi- registered more than 227,000 new voters dential candidates in 2008 to release a in battleground states and California; detailed health care reform plan. And the and helped 10,992 voters to cast early bal- union pressed them on immigration re- lots or vote absentee. form, jobs, and workplace fairness issues, Catalist, a data services ½rm, issued an among others. seiu initially let state analysis of the 2008 election using its councils go their own way, but after detailed database of all voting-age indi- Obama’s win in Iowa, there was strong viduals in the United States. The ½rm pro- rank-and-½le pressure to endorse the Illi- vided data services to a majority of the nois senator, which the union did in Feb- progressive political community that ruary. seiu members in their purple T- year, including seiu, so it had the ability shirts and jackets went out knocking on to compile an increasingly accurate pic- doors, passing out campaign literature, ture of the American electorate and the calling voters from union phone banks, forces influencing it. Catalist indepen- and using every modern campaign tool dently was able to break out data on the available. efforts of seiu members, ½nding that

142 (2) Spring 2013 135 How the they turned out at higher rates than nomic greed fosters political apathy. Assault nonunion workers. Unions historically have helped counter on Labor Endangers Catalist also reported that 88 percent of that apathy, but Tocqueville’s fear of Civil Society seiu activities were done person-to-per- greed can be seen in the growth of inequal- son through live phone calls (64 percent) ity, as discussed above. or in-person interactions (24 percent). Legal scholar Lawrence Lessig and That was about 50 percent more than the Glenn Greenwald, a writer now at The average of all progressive organizations Guardian, have argued effectively that in 2008. seiu alone did more overall policy outcomes today often are indiffer- voter contact in Virginia (20 percent), ent to the will of the people and to demo- New Mexico (13 percent), and Colorado cratic debate.28 The power of money in

(8.5 percent) than any force, including politics has enabled elites to shape out- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 the campaigns themselves and the party comes that are at odds with most voters. committees. In a discussion of Lessig’s book Republic, In Indiana, after subtracting the work Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress–and a of the Obama campaign, data showed that Plan to Stop It, he and Greenwald agreed more than 40 percent of all voter contact that the Occupy protests in late 2011 was done by seiu. Catalist reported that expanded rapidly and developed reso- seiu members knocked on 118,765 doors nance because people now understand in Indiana; made 186,145 phone calls to that voting no longer ½xes systemic prob- voters; and registered 14,003 Hoosier lems in our “money for influence” culture. voters. That huge outpouring of individ- Greenwald says that “the only recourse uals engaged in electoral participation for citizens becomes either passive had a big impact: Obama won the state acceptance of their powerlessness (i.e., by a margin of 25,000 votes. apathy and withdrawal) or disruption Other unions also performed at high and unrest fomented outside the elec- levels in 2008. And if we look more toral system.” More people today, includ- broadly at the rate of voter participation ing union members, fear that both politi- as one metric for civic engagement, it is cal parties are too subservient to corpora- clear that unions are an important ele- tions, which seem to own the political ment of increased turnout. Political sci- process, and that citizens, as Lessig argues, entist Benjamin Radcliff and Patricia have largely lost the ability to affect what Davis, of the U.S. Department of State, government does. studied nineteen industrial democracies When we look at the period following around the world and all ½fty U.S. states. the 2008 economic collapse, one might They found that aggregate rates of turnout have expected very tough legislation and are affected strongly by the strength of regulations on banks and Wall Street the labor movement: “The results indicate aimed at preventing a future reoccur- that the greater the share of workers rep- rence. Instead, even the very modest resented by unions, the greater is the Dodd-Frank reforms–far short of the turnout.”27 retooling of the ½nancial sector that is needed–continue to be resisted and De Tocqueville feared domination of watered down by members of Congress society by the state and saw the Ameri- whose campaigns are funded by the very cans he studied in the 1830s to be joiners institutions opposing regulation. of private associations that counterbal- We have thus entered an era that is very anced the state. He also argued that eco- threatening to civic engagement and

136 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences democratic society. People who vote for numbers to provide some counterbal- Andy Stern “change they can believe in” understand- ance on both the political and economic ably become disillusioned by not seeing fronts; that is why labor has been target- that promise become reality. ed by state politicians in Wisconsin, America is a country divided. The pro- Ohio, and Michigan, and by gop presi- cess has broken down. The danger is we dential and congressional candidates no longer seem capable of transcending nationally. Those who believe in strong our divisions to accomplish anything. civic engagement as a foundation for a Our checks and balances allow a minor- vigorous democracy need to speak out ity–usually a small minority–to block against the wave of anti-labor legislation the will of the majority on issue after and action around the country. And they

issue. Debt ceiling approval and disaster need to support new steps to strengthen Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 aid end up being levers for political workers’ abilities to exercise their endan- hostage-taking by Republicans in this gered right to join unions and participate new era. fully in our system as a counterbalance to The Citizens United decision by an the growing inequality, both political and extremist and activist conservative Su- economic. preme Court will only worsen the huge There are millions of workers out there and corrosive impact of money–mainly like Lucia, the immigrant janitor in Los corporate and right-wing money–that Angeles ½ghting for a better life for her now further floods our public debate. children with the skills she gained through The current voter suppression agenda the union–the same union that also gives further cause for concern, as Repub- helped her to win decent wages and a bet- licans and their corporate/right allies ter life for her family. Lucia’s future, as push to deny voting rights through new well as America’s, will be bright indeed if restrictions (allegedly intended to pre- the current assault on labor can be rebuffed vent fraud that most observers agree is and unions can expand their role as stew- minimal). ards for the public good–and as defend- Unions are the only segment of civil ers of efforts by the 99 percent to reduce society with the resources and grassroots inequality and protect democracy.

endnotes 1 seiu Local 1877 is part of seiu United Service Workers West, which represents more than forty thousand janitors, security of½cers, airport service workers, and other property service workers in California. 2 Veronica Terriquez, “Schools for Democracy: Labor Union Participation and Latino Immi- grant Parents’ School-Based Civic Engagement,” American Sociological Review 76 (4) (August 2011). The quotes from Lucia in the preceding paragraphs are taken from Terriquez’s article. 3 Don Stillman, Stronger Together: The Story of SEIU (White River Junction, Vt.: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2010). 4 Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Union Membership (Annual),” press release, January 21, 2011. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid.

142 (2) Spring 2013 137 How the 7 David Madland and Nick Bunker, “As Unions Weaken So Does the Middle Class: New Census Assault Data Shows the Importance of Unions to the Middle Class,” Center for American Progress on Labor Action Fund, September 23, 2011, http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2011/ Endangers Civil Society 09/madland_unions.html. 8 Bruce Western and Jake Rosenfeld, “Unions, Norms, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality,” American Sociological Review 76 (4) (August 2011). 9 The study is cited in Thomas Geoghegan, Were You Born on the Wrong Continent? How the Euro- pean Model Can Help You Get a Life (New York: New Press, 2010), 187. 10 Philip M. Dine, State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008). Dine, whose work I draw on here, was the highly respected labor reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for many years and now works for the National Association of Letter Carriers. 11 Ibid., 140–141. Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/daed/article-pdf/142/2/119/1830196/daed_a_00208.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 12 Ibid., 138. 13 Ibid., 137. 14 Ibid., 139–140. 15 See John Logan, of San Francisco State University, writing in The Hill, http://thehill.com/ blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/185651-romney-puts-anti-union-politics-front -and-center. 16 The nlrb-Boeing issue may have helped Romney in South Carolina, a state not in play in 2012. Romney’s broader attack on labor did not help him in key swing states, such as Ohio and Michigan. 17 Harold Meyerson, “The gop’s War on Labor Unions,” The Washington Post, December 1, 2011. 18 John Kretzschmar, “A Little History of Unions and Civic Engagement,” William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha. 19 Ibid. 20Philip Dray, There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America (New York: Doubleday, 2010), 497. Dray’s history of the American labor movement is a good source for those inter- ested in how unions evolved. 21 Evan McMorris-Santoro, “Santorum: Labor Unions Are Force For Good . . . If You’re Iranian,” Talking Points Memo, November 19, 2011. 22 A discussion of the union reforms that I and others proposed to the afl-cio during the last decade can be found in Stillman, Stronger Together. 23 Michael Alison Chandler, “Rede½ning Unionism: Montgomery Teachers’ Path Values Part- nership, not Confrontation,” The Washington Post, March 10, 2012. 24 Andy Stern and Eli Broad, “Teachers Deserve This ‘Thank You,’” The Huf½ngton Post, Novem- ber 15, 2012. 25 For more detail, see Stronger Together, from which these recommendations, as well as the following discussion of streamlining, are drawn. 26 See Stillman, Stronger Together, chap. 27, from which this discussion of seiu’s role in the 2008 election is drawn, along with internal seiu reports. 27 Benjamin Radcliff and Patricia Davis, “Labor Organization and Electoral Participation in Industrial Democracies,” American Journal of Political Science 44 (1) (January 2000): 132–141. 28 See Glenn Greenwald’s discussion with Lawrence Lessig on the blog FireDogLake’s Book Salon, http://fdlbooksalon.com/2011/10/08/fdl-book-salon-welcomes-lawrence-lessig -republic-lost-a-declaration-for-independence/.

138 Dædalus, the Journal ofthe American Academy of Arts & Sciences