As multinational corporations like McDonalds and Microsoft continue their global economic dominance, labor unions have lost their relevance within American politics.
Richard Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations — or AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor union — provides some interesting insight into the underlying tensions between American labor unions and their most likely supporter: the Democratic Party.
In a recent statement, Trumka endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term, stating, “With our endorsement today, we affirm our faith in him.”
However, just last year, Trumka criticized the president and his fellow Democrats for their willingness to supposedly sacrifice the unions’ agenda during last summer’s debt ceiling debacle.
The union leader went on to say, “History will judge (Obama), and I think working people will judge him.”
But neither Obama nor the Democratic Party is to blame for the labor movement’s woes. In fact, the unions themselves have dug themselves into their current mess.
The issue is not that the political power of the movement has waned, per say. If anything, unions retain tremendous leeway over the federal government — comparable to those the chokehold corporations have on Congress.
Instead, it‘s what the labor movement of the 21st century stands for that is unclear.
Here, the movement has lost its way through foolish investments and unrealistic proposals. First, consider the support for the Detroit bailout.
According to various government agencies and outside groups, the bailout cost American taxpayers $14 billion.
A clear payout to Detroit’s Big Three auto companies, and more importantly, the United Auto Workers Union, the tab continues to leave a bad taste in the mouths of average Americans.
Instead of directing their resources to encourage more worker retraining programs, the union movement managed to tangle itself with the inefficiencies that led to Detroit’s near collapse.
What was lost among the American public was the realization that the problem wasn’t necessarily organized workers themselves, but more that America’s car industry has only itself to blame for its lack of competitiveness against companies like Honda and Toyota.
Detroit’s car companies worked harder than they should have to raise tariffs and restrictions on foreign cars. When their plans backfired as more Americans continued to buy more from Japan and South Korea and less from the United States, the flaws of this strategy were exposed.
Subsequently, union disapproval of most free trade agreements is unproductive.
From their opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, to the support for the 2011 Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act intended to punish China — the world’s second largest economy — for currency manipulation, these tactics simply do not work in the long run.
Instead of seeking to hang on to America’s old manufacturing sector through tariffs, labor unions should have realized that they do not counter foreign competition through protectionism.
Rather, they pursue higher prosperity by becoming more competitive. America’s manufacturing isn’t doomed, but it has changed.
The U.S. will no longer be the destination for the production of lower valued goods, but it can become a leader in creating “green technology,” among other sectors.
collegiatetimes.com
Richard Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations — or AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor union — provides some interesting insight into the underlying tensions between American labor unions and their most likely supporter: the Democratic Party.
In a recent statement, Trumka endorsed President Barack Obama for a second term, stating, “With our endorsement today, we affirm our faith in him.”
However, just last year, Trumka criticized the president and his fellow Democrats for their willingness to supposedly sacrifice the unions’ agenda during last summer’s debt ceiling debacle.
The union leader went on to say, “History will judge (Obama), and I think working people will judge him.”
But neither Obama nor the Democratic Party is to blame for the labor movement’s woes. In fact, the unions themselves have dug themselves into their current mess.
The issue is not that the political power of the movement has waned, per say. If anything, unions retain tremendous leeway over the federal government — comparable to those the chokehold corporations have on Congress.
Instead, it‘s what the labor movement of the 21st century stands for that is unclear.
Here, the movement has lost its way through foolish investments and unrealistic proposals. First, consider the support for the Detroit bailout.
According to various government agencies and outside groups, the bailout cost American taxpayers $14 billion.
A clear payout to Detroit’s Big Three auto companies, and more importantly, the United Auto Workers Union, the tab continues to leave a bad taste in the mouths of average Americans.
Instead of directing their resources to encourage more worker retraining programs, the union movement managed to tangle itself with the inefficiencies that led to Detroit’s near collapse.
What was lost among the American public was the realization that the problem wasn’t necessarily organized workers themselves, but more that America’s car industry has only itself to blame for its lack of competitiveness against companies like Honda and Toyota.
Detroit’s car companies worked harder than they should have to raise tariffs and restrictions on foreign cars. When their plans backfired as more Americans continued to buy more from Japan and South Korea and less from the United States, the flaws of this strategy were exposed.
Subsequently, union disapproval of most free trade agreements is unproductive.
From their opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, to the support for the 2011 Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act intended to punish China — the world’s second largest economy — for currency manipulation, these tactics simply do not work in the long run.
Instead of seeking to hang on to America’s old manufacturing sector through tariffs, labor unions should have realized that they do not counter foreign competition through protectionism.
Rather, they pursue higher prosperity by becoming more competitive. America’s manufacturing isn’t doomed, but it has changed.
The U.S. will no longer be the destination for the production of lower valued goods, but it can become a leader in creating “green technology,” among other sectors.
collegiatetimes.com
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