According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union membership increased in 2008 by 428,000 new members. That is the largest one-year gain in a quarter of a century! In percentage terms, it is an increase from 12.1 percent to 12.4 percent of all workers in the country.
In light of the success of union organizers, it is surprising that the Democrats are still promoting the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which will serve to further increase union membership by substituting card checks for secret ballot elections. Card checks will permit union organizers to sign up a majority of intimidated workers and, ipso facto, those workers will be unionized.
With the number of unionized workers expected to grow beyond the current 16.1 million already unionized workers, corporate America will be facing daunting economic challenges to remain competitive in a global economy. We have seen what effect the unions have had on the auto industry. If the EFCA becomes law, we shall see many other industries suffering similarly. The last thing America needs now during this worsening recession is a law that will shackle Corporate America.
With Democrats now the majority in both houses of Congress and a Democrat in the White House, Andy Stern, president of the mighty Service Employees International Union (SEIU) feels that he is not only a king maker, but also a potential destroyer of any politician who does not live up to Stern’s agenda.
In fact, the SEIU has set aside $10-million to “unelect” any politician who breaks his promise to support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Mr. Stern told the Wall Street Journal that the SEIU will use the “persuasion of power” to get the results it wants.
The SEIU spent $85-million to help elect politicians who support the EFCA. Investors Business Daily wrote that Mr. Stern “regards the $85-million as an ‘investment’.” And what investor doesn’t expect a significant return on an investment!
The current Congress may be the best that union funds can buy! And that means that it’s time for Corporate America to circle the wagons.
There isn’t an economist in the country who doesn’t understand that 70% of our economy is consumer driven. And the vast majority of consumes are workers who rely on weekly or bimonthly paychecks. Without those paychecks, consumption would drop precipitously, driving the country into a depression.
Therefore, it is essential that the country enjoy high employment. And high rates of employment tend to exist in right-to-work states, where unions cannot make onerous demands on employers. One need only look at the states where Nissan and Toyota manufacture cars and compare those right-to-work states with Michigan, where the UAW has helped to make the U. S. auto manufacturers into second-class companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy.
Now unions and their congressional allies are pushing for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). And according to organized labor, the EFCA will result in millions of new union members.
If that happens, labor costs will skyrocket and layoffs will follow as surely as night follows day. Laid off workers will not be able to be spend money; consumption will plumment; the economy will suffer; and the country could descend into another depression.
Durning last eight years, unions felt that they were unfairly treated by the Bush administration. Now they are looking forward to a positive change in their fortunes.
Organized labor invested more than $300-million dollars to elect Democrats to political offices from the president down to congressional representatives. With a Democratic majority in both houses of representatives as well as a Democrat in the White House, organized labor looks forward to the fulfillment of its quid pro quo. To begin, organized labor expects the Employee Free Choice Act (aka “card checks”) to be passed and signed into law. The result, they feel, will be significantly more union members than currently exists. And by significant, they mean millions of more unionized workers!
Such an outcome would be disastrous for an American economy struggling with the burdens of a worsening recession. And even public sentiment may no longer be on the side of the unions, for everyone sees what negative effects where brought about by the onerous demands of the UAW on the auto industry. While the U. S. auto industry struggles to survive, its foreign-based competitors in right-to-work states are faring significantly better. No one, not even Democrats, want to see other U. S. industries suffer the way the Detroit auto makers have suffered.
If U. S. industries are to be competitive, it is essential that unions and their political allies do not encumber Corporate America with onerous demands. Even the legendary union spokesman, Samuel Gompers stated “unions have to work to make the companies successful….”
One hopes that concerns for the health of the U.S. economy will trump the purely political interests of our representatives and the selfish interests of organized labor.