There is currently a move afoot at my university to start a faculty union. It's become a significant topic of discussion this year among faculty and administrators, of course, as well as among students. The other day, before class, a few of my students were talking about it and asking me a question or two about it, when one of them said something to the effect of "I think unions were important at one time, but they've outlived their usefulness." (That may not be verbatim, but it's pretty close.) That's not an uncommon sentiment to hear. I've certainly heard plenty of people say almost that exact same kind of thing before. And I think I understand the thinking behind it (though, that's not to say I agree with that thinking). People taking this view recognize that unions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries combatted horrible working conditions to make work a less oppressive place for workers. Yet, this view thinks that today most American workers are coddled and paid well enough that labor strikes are egregious and self-centered exercises led by labor unions, which they often see as bogged down in bureaucracy and institutional politics. Indeed, as a post I placed here in October noted, the very presentation of news stories involving labor negotiations often devalue unions and the interests of labor by their very wording.
The thing that I wonder after hearing the comment that labor unions were useful but have outlived that usefulness is why we only tend to hear it on the side of labor. When's the last time you heard "Corporations were once useful, but they're not really useful anymore" or "Businesses once served a useful purpose, but they have outlived that purpose"? And, ultimately, when as a society we are quick to question the existence of labor organizations and slow to question the existence of management organizations, what does that suggest about liberty and democracy?
1 comment:
Labor unions (I am a union member)can either be undemocratic or have become "professionalized". The "president" of my union local and other union officers are unelected and do not work in jobs that the union represents. If the faculty forms a union it should make sure that over time the union remains a "union". Those who lead the union should be elected by the membership and actually be faculty members.
My union does as much telling us what to do or think as my employer.
The longer a union is in existence the greater the chance it loses its energy and focus on social justice for all in an attempt to protect existing wages and benefits for its own job category or business.
Overall union membership, combined with a successful corporation, or restricted entry (such as training or degree), and government tax base
are the most lucrative types of employment. Make no mistake, union members are expected to work somewhat harder than lesser paid nonunion workers. Union labor is productive labor.
It is better to work in a union workplace than in a nonunion one, in general.
JCarp
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