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President Biden
joins the picket line
of UAW workers!
Dear Friends,
Earlier this week, President Biden joined the picket line with UAW members in Wayne County, Michigan – marking the first time a sitting President has visited a picket line in modern times. The Biden-Harris Administration is proud to be the most pro-union Administration in history. Read the President’s remarks here.
Unions have benefitted the American workforce in many ways, whether or not you’re a member of a union. Here are some of the most significant benefits:
- Higher wages: Union workers earn on average 11.2% more than nonunion workers. This is because unions have the power to negotiate for higher wages on behalf of their members. Higher wages mean that workers have more money to spend, which can boost the economy. They also help to reduce poverty and inequality.
- Better benefits: Union workers are more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, pensions, and paid leave. They are also less likely to be laid off or have their hours reduced. Better benefits, such as health insurance and paid leave, help workers to stay healthy and productive. They also provide financial security in the event of a job loss or illness.
- Safer workplaces: Unions have played a major role in improving safety standards in the workplace. They have also helped to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. Safer workplaces mean that workers are less likely to be injured or killed on the job. This is a major benefit, as workplace injuries and illnesses can have a devastating impact on workers and their families.
- More workplace democracy: Unions give workers a voice in the workplace. They can help to ensure that workers are treated fairly and that their concerns are heard. Workplace democracy means that workers have a say in how their workplace is run. This can help to improve morale and productivity.
- Stronger economy: Unions help to create a stronger economy by raising wages and increasing productivity. They also help to reduce income inequality. Stronger unions mean a stronger economy. Unions help to raise wages, which increases consumer spending. They also help to reduce income inequality, which can lead to a more stable economy.
In conclusion, unions have played a vital role in improving the lives of American workers. They have helped to raise wages, improve benefits, and make workplaces safer. Unions are essential for ensuring that all workers have a fair shot at a good life.
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Unions:
Together we bargain,
divided we beg.
A Biden/Harris Administration study has concluded that:
Globalization, technological change, and corporate mergers are commonly cited as key factors in the erosion of the power of workers’ unions.
Then, why is unionization lower in the United States than in other Western countries? Below are some of the top reasons:
- pattern bargaining broke down in the 1980s (formerly unions could spread worker benefits from a unionized company to an entire industry by improving the market levels of wages and working conditions),
- the expansion of so-called “right-to-work” states (allowing scabs to work for unionized companies without joining the union or paying dues, facilitating employers’ union-busting activities),
- outsourcing, and industry concentration of low-wage workers,
- greater employer opposition to organizing efforts, and
- decreased enforcement of labor laws.
Decline of unions = decline of fair wages and growth of extreme income inequality
The decline of unions has resulted in much lower inflation-adjusted wage levels and a declining labor share of increased company profits. As unionization rates have fallen, middle-class worker incomes have stagnated relative to the growth in workers’ productivity.
In 1981, President Reagan fired air traffic controllers striking for better wages. Republicans and some U.S. companies have been trying to bust unions for decades.
Now, some Red States are trying to turn back the clock to the bad old days by reducing legal protections enshrined in child labor laws. In some cases, immigrant children are being used in a manner tantamount to slave labor. We need stronger enforcement of these protections instead. Many companies are engaging in wage theft and child labor law violations, and have emphasized union-busting, including Starbucks, Amazon, Chipotle, and others.
Unions give workers bargaining power!
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