Its Labor Day. I have very mixed feelings about both the labor movement and Americans.
During the great depression, my father helped organize labor unions in the printing industry. It was something that helped create a middle class and prosperity following the Second World War. He was frequently beaten up for his efforts.
But the printers’ unions remain quite strong, despite losing jobs to technology. In the early 1960s, there were more than a dozen newspapers serving New York City. But labor costs destroyed them. The Herald Tribune, the World and the New York Journal were forced to merge due to union demands, and they went out of business due to a strike.
After graduating from high school, my first full-time job was, as aa sales clerk at Bamberger’s, New Jersey’s largest department store chain. My union dues were $4 per week. That left my earnings at minimum wage. That $4 bought three plus mels at McDonalds, or 80 candy bars, or four packs of cigarettes. I didn’t stick around very long.
With some exceptions such as Costco, today’s retail jobs have very low wages. When I worked at Wal-Mart, about a third of the employees needed public
assistance such as food stamps and Medicaid. In Canada, the 12 technicians in the automotive department voted for a union and Wal-Mart closed the store. I was made a department “manager,’ which meant I got an extra dollar per hour and lost several employee rights. As a manager, I had to go to an all-day session on union busting at an off-store site.
And, of course, many jobs have been lot due to technology and cheaper foreign labor costs. In the automotive industry, workers have been replaced by robots. And “American” brand cars are made in other countries, especially Mexico where Ford’s sedans are a made there. Not to mention many parts are built elsewere. Even the most iconic American brand, Harley Davidson, makes its motorcyces in Europe these days.
Yet there is an immense need for labor unions in many industries, Fast food and many grocery workers can’t get full-time jobs. Health care workers not only have low wages and long hours, but many of them risked or lost their lives due to Covid.
Restaurant and hospitality workers get well below minimum wage and depend on tips, suffering a great deal due to Covid where the tips died due to take-out only situations.
But the major impact of Covid is over and it is time for every person in America who wants a job to get one that will keep them above the poverty line. And unions, weakened through lack of support and internal corruption, seem to be the ony answer. But the fact is, most Americans purchase foreign items because they are cheaper.
From the 1940s through the 1970s, the International Ladies Garmet Workers Union filled the radio waves with its “Look For The Union Label” song. The ILGWU doesn’t even exist any longer, having merged with other unions in the 1990s.
And so, America, enjoy your extra day of rest, at least those of you who aren’t being forced to go to work. And to those of you who are buying inferior crap from Communist China, enjoy killing American jobs.
During the great depression, my father helped organize labor unions in the printing industry. It was something that helped create a middle class and prosperity following the Second World War. He was frequently beaten up for his efforts.
But the printers’ unions remain quite strong, despite losing jobs to technology. In the early 1960s, there were more than a dozen newspapers serving New York City. But labor costs destroyed them. The Herald Tribune, the World and the New York Journal were forced to merge due to union demands, and they went out of business due to a strike.
After graduating from high school, my first full-time job was, as aa sales clerk at Bamberger’s, New Jersey’s largest department store chain. My union dues were $4 per week. That left my earnings at minimum wage. That $4 bought three plus mels at McDonalds, or 80 candy bars, or four packs of cigarettes. I didn’t stick around very long.
With some exceptions such as Costco, today’s retail jobs have very low wages. When I worked at Wal-Mart, about a third of the employees needed public
assistance such as food stamps and Medicaid. In Canada, the 12 technicians in the automotive department voted for a union and Wal-Mart closed the store. I was made a department “manager,’ which meant I got an extra dollar per hour and lost several employee rights. As a manager, I had to go to an all-day session on union busting at an off-store site.
And, of course, many jobs have been lot due to technology and cheaper foreign labor costs. In the automotive industry, workers have been replaced by robots. And “American” brand cars are made in other countries, especially Mexico where Ford’s sedans are a made there. Not to mention many parts are built elsewere. Even the most iconic American brand, Harley Davidson, makes its motorcyces in Europe these days.
Yet there is an immense need for labor unions in many industries, Fast food and many grocery workers can’t get full-time jobs. Health care workers not only have low wages and long hours, but many of them risked or lost their lives due to Covid.
Restaurant and hospitality workers get well below minimum wage and depend on tips, suffering a great deal due to Covid where the tips died due to take-out only situations.
But the major impact of Covid is over and it is time for every person in America who wants a job to get one that will keep them above the poverty line. And unions, weakened through lack of support and internal corruption, seem to be the ony answer. But the fact is, most Americans purchase foreign items because they are cheaper.
From the 1940s through the 1970s, the International Ladies Garmet Workers Union filled the radio waves with its “Look For The Union Label” song. The ILGWU doesn’t even exist any longer, having merged with other unions in the 1990s.
And so, America, enjoy your extra day of rest, at least those of you who aren’t being forced to go to work. And to those of you who are buying inferior crap from Communist China, enjoy killing American jobs.
