Inquirer Editorial: Organized labor is due for a reality check

Organized labor is so powerful in Philadelphia that people in this town might not realize unions are in real trouble nationally. Labor Day is a good time to reflect on that reality.

Just a few days ago, union picketers made the local TV news by blasting the amplified sound of a baby's recorded cries during daily protests of nonunion work at a hotel, disturbing guests and a Center City neighborhood. Weeks earlier, a strike at the Pennsylvania Convention Center threatened a major convention.

Meanwhile, the political clout of labor leaders such as electricians boss John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty can be calculated by the number of Philadelphia officials who all but genuflect in the presence of a man who controls a significant source of campaign contributions.

But unions aren't walking so boldly nationally. The latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report puts union membership at its lowest level since 1916, when 11.2 percent of workers were in unions. Last year, only 11.3 percent of U.S. workers (14.3 million) belonged to unions, compared with 11.8 percent in 2011. This downward trend began in 1983, when 20 percent of workers were union members.

Today, only 6.6 percent of private-sector employees belong to unions, compared with about 35 percent in the 1950s. Public-sector membership fell slightly last year, to 36 percent, compared with 37 percent in 2011. But the total number of government workers in unions dropped by 234,000, to 7.3 million, as state and local governments continued to lay off teachers, police officers, firefighters, and others.

The union membership decline among private-sector workers is being blamed on manufacturers' moving to right-to-work states, where workers who don't join unions don't have to pay nonmember fees; the growth in retail, restaurant, and other service jobs that have traditionally lacked union representation; and efforts in Wisconsin, Indiana, and other states to roll back the power of unions. Union membership dropped 18 percent in Indiana last year, and 13 percent in Wisconsin.

The economic uncertainty that remains after the recession, exacerbated by the greatest income disparity in recent memory, demonstrates the need for responsible representation of America's workers to advocate for fair wages and appropriate benefits. But the dramatic decline in union membership suggests workers no longer have confidence in organized labor to get the job done. "We need to do things differently," says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. He's right.

Philadelphia has played a huge role in the American labor movement, starting with the Carpenters' Company, which organized in 1724. In 1786, Philadelphia printers staged the country's first documented strike for higher wages, demanding a minimum of $6 per week.

This city's unions can make history again by shedding policies that have them acting more like fraternities, in which you have to either know somebody or be related to a member to get an apprenticeship. That's an odd way to avoid declining membership - as is alienating city residents and visitors with unnecessarily disruptive tactics. And bankrolling ingratiating politicians may work now, but it's not a long-term strategy for unions' survival.

Source: Philly.com