Working For Better Wages
A look into income inequality and the decline of American labor organization
—By Alexander Ross
As the Fall 2020 semester was about to begin, many University of Michigan found their classes suddenly canceled as the campus was hit by a massive labor action, leading many to feel confused about what was happening. Some students were not going to class in order to “not cross the picket line” and some professors not holding class for the same reason. This was in support of collective action, but what exactly could this accomplish?
A strike in Ann Arbor
When the University of Michigan released their plans for a return to learning in the fall of 2020, many were upset. This situation drove the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) to go on a strike against the university and the choices they made. The GEO voted to strike, arguing that the university was breaking state labor laws regarding workplace safety. The union demanded terms such as transparency on covid safety plans and contact tracing, as well as options for graduate student instructors (GSIs) to work remotely.
The strike ended in a settlement after the university threatened legal action against the union, saying that the strike was against their contract because the issues were not related to their employment. When the workers get put into a position like this, the larger powers can take advantage of them. This is an issue because without a robust support system, it can be difficult for an organization to defend itself, especially in a legal battle. The initial terms may have not been met, but a statement released by the union said: “By withholding our labor, building coalitions, and making our power impossible to ignore, we forced the university to give us an offer with substantive progress toward a safe and just campus.” Though not an absolute win, it took steps in the right direction for the union. It also showed that their voices could be heard when they came together.
Unions then and now
During the industrial revolution, this country relied heavily on the physical labor of both natural-born citizens and immigrants alike. It was the hard work of these Americans that built the modern infrastructure of this country. This period in history would arguably not have been possible without workers-rights movements. It was labor unions that brought us things like child labor laws, overtime pay, and paid vacations. The American Federation of Labor was created in the midst of the industrial revolution, representing over 1.4 million workers and fighting for fair wages and working conditions. Labor Unions used to be the backbone of the American working class, but today, the same type of labor organization that has had a positive impact on our nation’s history is becoming obsolete.
In the state of Michigan, 44% of workers in 1964 were represented by a union. Today that number is below 14%. Michigan is not the only state where this is happening, virtually every part of the country has seen a drastic decrease in labor representation in the modern workforce. Compared to other countries, America is far behind when it comes to labor organizations. The state with the most represented workers, New York, still has less representation than Canada and about the same numbers as a below-average country in Europe. Unions are often created by laborers and trades workers, but can also be seen in professional industries as well. There are unions for teachers and educators such as Michigan’s Graduate Employees’ Organization. I asked a recent graduate, Victoria Roberts, who is starting an education job in the fall what her thoughts on joining a union were. “I don’t even know what that means” she said, but who could blame her? Labor organization is not a topic that is often discussed in this country.
What can a union do for you?
When laborers are organized, they hold collective bargaining powers over the owners. The workforce can use the strength of their numbers to bargain for better wages, hours, and working conditions. This is obviously very good for the workers, but the owners will almost always do anything in their power to push back against their workforce organizing. Propaganda is often a tool used by owners to prevent organization, but the reality is that the owners do not have more power than the workforce. If the head of the company stops working, production can continue, but it cannot continue without the laborer’s cooperation. Edward is a local courier who has been a member of the Teamsters since he started working. The Teamsters are an organization with a network of diverse workers who organize collective bargaining across the country. He has never taken part in any demonstrations, but his peers have a history of fighting for overtime pay. “They would walk out every day at 5 even if the work wasn’t finished” says Edward. Strikes and walk-outs are one of the most effective ways that unions will show their power to commence negotiations in the workplace. Strikes are not only a demonstration, but also a display of power to the public and the business owners.
Modern-day union busting
The push to stop labor organization has become much more prevalent recently and it is harder to stop as less workers are being represented. A popular contemporary case of this is in Alabama where Amazon is fighting to take away its workers rights. Amazon is infamous for rumors of having poor working conditions in its fulfillment centers, as well as being known as anti-union . The employees are soon to be voting to unionize, but Amazon is trying their best to put an end to it. Propaganda has been placed all over the workplace, break areas, and even the restrooms. They consist of posters all with information about how unions are bad for your career and how they will disrupt the workplace. Messages like these have been what has disrupted labor organization in this country in recent history. They have even bribed the city to change the patterns of traffic lights inbetween the warehouse and highway to prevent employees from speaking to DSA representatives who are picketing on the roadside. This has been an important story as the workers in Bessemer, Alabama recently took a stand against the company that has been known to have poor labor relation practices. This movement will hopefully get the ball rolling for other Amazon facilities across the country. With Amazon being one of the largest companies in the country, if not the world, it would have been a big win for workers across the country.
Taking a stand
Unfortunately, the workers voted against a union and the workers will go back to business as usual. The failure of this vote though brings up the question of what the outcome may have been had Amazon not tried so hard to influence their workers to vote against unionization. I was able to speak with an employee at an Amazon fulfillment center who wishes to remain anonymous. He told me the facilities have a system of advancement for employees where promotions can be easy to come by as long as you do your work, but demotions can come just as easily. “I heard about the unionizing in Alabama and I’m hoping it becomes a company-wide situation” he said wishfully. He has his doubts though, after already seeing his coworkers be promoted and demoted within weeks, he understands the fragile ecosystem of the workplace. “If there were ever a push to unionize, I would be concerned about my standing with the company if I decided to get involved.” The subject can be quite delicate, especially when people’s livelihoods are on the line.
The cases of Amazon workers and the GEO both highlight the importance of unions. Those in positions of power are unlikely to be in favor of labor organizations because they negatively impact their personal financial agenda, and create a bad image for the public to see when they go on strike. Unions are built around compromise between workers and owners, but owners will often pretend like unions work against the greater good of the workforce. However if this were true, we would not see so much effort being put into stopping them.
Wage war
A common argument made against the raising of the minimum wage is that minimum wage jobs are just meant to be temporary work for teenagers and college students. However, University of Michigan economics professor Betsey Stevenson has debunked some myths about the minimum wage. Only 20% of workers who make minimum wage are teenagers; the majority of them are women who work full-time. At $7.25 per hour, the United States’ minimum wage is lower than that of Canada and Western Europe. Though it is adjusted for inflation, the buying power of the minimum wage today is less than it was in the 1960’s. Stevenson also says that “a family trying to survive on minimum wage can find itself deep in poverty” a story that is unfortunately too common across this country.
What does the federal minimum wage have to do with labor organization though? With the minimum wage set so low, companies have no obligation to pay a wage any higher than what is legally required. Sure, some do in an effort to increase worker happiness and productivity, but there is nothing protecting these wages. Unions step in to represent the workers where the government fails to. Collective bargaining raises the wages to a point in which the workers feel is fair. Although, raising wages for the workers does mean that the money has to come from the top so it can be distributed to the workers, which is why owners are often trying to disrupt organization.
Economic backlash
Some of the most common arguments against labor unions revolve around the idea of worker exploitation. Companies will say that unions come in and demand fees from your paycheck and put them into their pockets. They say that the unions are the ones exploiting the workers, when in fact it is the companies who are exploiting the workers. The money does not come from the workers paycheck, it comes from the owner’s profits which is why they are holding onto it for dear life. It is not only hourly wages that are important either, benefits are also a key factor here. Unizoned workers have better access to benefits such as health care and retirement packages compared to their non-union counterparts; this is on top of earning higher hourly wages as well. It is important to note that owners are the ones who suffer from these negotiations though. While they are always beneficial to the workers, owners often have to pull money from the profits of the company to satisfy negotiations, driving up costs in the workplace. It is important to remember though that the profits of the company are largely being created by the workers and not the owners. It is true that the owners jobs’ are also valuable and needed, but they are fundamentally not as essential to the production of profits as the body of workers are.
Entering the workforce
The job market for college graduates has already been oversaturated in the past few years, and now covid has made it much more difficult to find a job. This puts graduating students in a position where they may not have much of an option regarding where they would like to work. On top of this, living expenses in the United States are steadily increasing, while wages remain stagnant or are declining. Michigan is currently one the states with the highest averages in rent increase. From 2020 to 2021, the average rent in the city of Detroit $1,017 in the state and is rising at a rate of 14.60% per year. In addition, the minimum wage in Michigan has only increased $2.25 since 2008, and wages on average have only increased about 2%. With all of these statistics, it is also important to include the fact that wealth has also increased for those who were earning more than the average workforce to begin with. Income inequality in the country is increasing as the lower and middle-class household incomes decrease, while upper-class income quickly increases. These numbers do not even factor in the reality that many jobs have been outsourced overseas, and that many more jobs will be lost due to automation. The majority of Americans are not business owners, they are working-class. Unions create an environment where the working class is able to use the strength of their number to hold on to the middle class and not allow the wealthy to continue to diminish them.
Looking ahead
This subject can be quite complicated, such is the case with any subject where people’s money and time are involved. This topic is important for anybody who is entering the American workforce to understand, both workers and owners alike. As university students we are often being trained to be in professional positions that are deemed as “higher up” in the company. The point here is that this distinction is fabricated. All jobs in a company are essential and should be treated as such. It is unethical to extort those whose jobs are of “lower value” to yours just because you can. Together, we do not need to create more distinctions of class and wealth, but create a collective society where everybody has an equal opportunity and is represented as such. “The U.S. economy is not working for most working people” says Bernie Sanders. This country was founded on the idea of equal opportunity which is impossible to achieve if the working class is constantly having their rights taken and their labor exploited.
Feature photo: Factory worker by Michael Browning via Unsplash.