What Have Unions Done For Us?
May. 3rd, 2011 08:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deborahjrossI make no secret of it: I come from a staunch union family and I'm proud of it. My father was a rabble-rousing, trouble-making union organizer who had the gall to go to bat for the rights of deaf printers. So this article by California Labor Federation Communications Organizer Rebecca Greenberg particularly pleased me. Big business didn't give us these things. We organized and demanded them for ourselves.
"From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend," there's more:
Child Labor Laws: In 1881, the very first American Federation of Labor (AFL) national convention passed a resolution calling on states to ban children under 14 from all gainful employment... that led up to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act – the first federal law in the nation to prohibit child labor.
Unemployment Insurance, Social Security and the Safety Net. As early as the 1830’s, unions – not the government -- first began the practice of providing unemployment assistance to jobless workers.
Occupational health and safety. Prior to 1970, firefighters, mineworkers, those who work around dangerous chemicals and just about everyone else had absolutely no health and safety protections at work. Unions changed that.
The eight-hour day. During the industrial revolution of the late 1800’s, workers often toiled for 14 or 16 hours at a stretch with no overtime pay. In May of 1886, a labor strike for the eight-hour day led to the now infamous Haymarket Square riot.
Health care. Up until the mid-20th century, employer-provided health care was incredibly rare, but all that changed thanks to the labor movement. In 1943, the National War Labor Board (a coalition of unions) declared employer contributions for health insurance to be tax free, which encourages companies to offer health-insurance packages to attract workers.
Minimum wage. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established a minimum wage (back then it was 25 cents an hour), and unions have fought to raise that minimum wage to a living wage.
Unemployment Insurance, Social Security and the Safety Net. As early as the 1830’s, unions – not the government -- first began the practice of providing unemployment assistance to jobless workers..
Family and Medical Leave. Balancing work and family has never been easy, and as more women enter the workforce, that balancing act becomes even tougher – which is why labor staunchly advocates for new family-friendly workplace policies.
Higher wages. Unions raise the minimum wage standard for all workers, and non-union employers are compelled to offer comparable wages and benefits in order to attract the best and brightest. In fact, at the time when most Americans belonged to a union — a period of time between the 1940′s and 1950′s — income inequality in the U.S. was at its lowest point in the history of the country.
"From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend," there's more:
Child Labor Laws: In 1881, the very first American Federation of Labor (AFL) national convention passed a resolution calling on states to ban children under 14 from all gainful employment... that led up to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act – the first federal law in the nation to prohibit child labor.
Unemployment Insurance, Social Security and the Safety Net. As early as the 1830’s, unions – not the government -- first began the practice of providing unemployment assistance to jobless workers.
Occupational health and safety. Prior to 1970, firefighters, mineworkers, those who work around dangerous chemicals and just about everyone else had absolutely no health and safety protections at work. Unions changed that.
The eight-hour day. During the industrial revolution of the late 1800’s, workers often toiled for 14 or 16 hours at a stretch with no overtime pay. In May of 1886, a labor strike for the eight-hour day led to the now infamous Haymarket Square riot.
Health care. Up until the mid-20th century, employer-provided health care was incredibly rare, but all that changed thanks to the labor movement. In 1943, the National War Labor Board (a coalition of unions) declared employer contributions for health insurance to be tax free, which encourages companies to offer health-insurance packages to attract workers.
Minimum wage. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established a minimum wage (back then it was 25 cents an hour), and unions have fought to raise that minimum wage to a living wage.
Unemployment Insurance, Social Security and the Safety Net. As early as the 1830’s, unions – not the government -- first began the practice of providing unemployment assistance to jobless workers..
Family and Medical Leave. Balancing work and family has never been easy, and as more women enter the workforce, that balancing act becomes even tougher – which is why labor staunchly advocates for new family-friendly workplace policies.
Higher wages. Unions raise the minimum wage standard for all workers, and non-union employers are compelled to offer comparable wages and benefits in order to attract the best and brightest. In fact, at the time when most Americans belonged to a union — a period of time between the 1940′s and 1950′s — income inequality in the U.S. was at its lowest point in the history of the country.
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 05:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-03 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 03:13 am (UTC)Was just at my Exec Council tonight to discuss our response to the management proposal asking for our input about what should be cut in the budget. District will probably disregard our recommendations like they did last year--throw a temper tantrum because we didn't blindly adopt it. But maybe not. Maybe they'll be reasonable this time. We shall see.
Meanwhile, I found out that I successfully won the local vice president position, as a write-in. So guess that really makes me a unionista.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 05:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-04 08:32 pm (UTC)Appropriate icon is appropriate.