Meet at the Union Hall: Labor Day 2009 & EFCAs Chances

In the wake of Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and Chicago's 1886 Haymarket Affair, labor affairs in the United States encountered fierce opposition courtesy of federal, state, municipal, and corporate forces that linked the working-class to radicalism. Turn of the century labor unrest initiated waves of anti-radicalism and fears of communist/socialist encroachments in the working-class that fueled suppression by national guards, police forces, and corporate hired thugs. So in 1894 when President Grover Cleveland and Congress enshrined a holiday for the working-class, they did not select the day recognized by workers around the world (May 1, to commemorate Haymarket). Instead, he opted for the first Monday in September, which was also proposed by several labor unions. Cleveland's and Congress' decision is one part in the long history of anti-radicalism in the United States.

Since, the plight of the American working-class and organized labor reached dizzying yet fleeting heights and, largely, pits of suppression. Neoliberalism, recessions in the 1970s and early 1980s, and President Ronald Reagan's PATCO firing eviscerated the working-class and its traditional support of organized labor. Corporations and politicians stripped the working-class of any political power with a skillful propaganda campaign that altered the debate by sullying the idea of a working-class (instead we have an amorphous "middle class" that consists of the working-class) and sharpening the tools of union busting. The result? The top 20% of Americans own 80% of the wealth in this country and the bottom 80's wages have moved negligibly from the 1970s. With wealth comes political power, as William Domhoff argues.

SEIU, AFL-CIO, and a host of labor allies recognized the singular opportunity they face with a Democratic Congress and an ally in the White House--the latter of which raked money in from SEIU. So this coalition pushed Congress to reckon with the Employees' Free Choice Act (EFCA) and card check. Card check is dead and won't return. A friend and I discussed card check and he voiced the fear of an anti-democratic procedure foisted on workers, which is a legitimate concern. However, as he and most others don't know, employers are the ones who undertake a deliberately un-democratic tack. They receive fines for obstructing union drives and have the clear upper hand to use pressure in the work place through firing, suspension, forced attendance at anti-union classes, and intimidation, unlike organized labor. By all accounts the future of EFCA will alter the speed at which elections are held and unions' rights to meet with workers, as well monitoring of employers' tactics to prevent a unionization drive.

However, after a bloody August for the administration and Democrats, what is EFCA's fate? As Gallup found in a recent poll, support for organized labor took a substantial dive in the past year.

• In 2008, Gallup reported a 59% positive view of unions. Their recent poll found that level at 48%.
  
• The poll found that 46% of Americans view unions as mostly hurting companies, and 45% believe they mostly help.
• Even worse, 51% of respondents said that unions hurt the economy, and merely 39% said they helped. For comparative purposes, the totals were flipped in 2006.
  

These figures are troubling for unions and their democratic allies as they prepare for the 2010 mid-term elections and the possibility of passing EFCA. Health care will pass--even if it's denuded of actual reform. EFCA is questionable in these economic times with horrible employment figures projected for the future and as pundits such as Charlie Cook portend doom for the Democratic Party next year. As I've said on here in the past, this is the working-class' opportunity. Neither Presidents Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton stood up for labor and, if history is a guide, it's doubtful in times of prosperity that labor reform will pass.

And if you need a refresher on why conservatives despise unions and the working-class, read Jerry Agar's column on Townhall: Labor Day - I'm not Celebrating.

One last addition: President Obama delivered a Labor Day speech at the AFL-CIO picnic in Cincinnati. He comments on EFCA at the very end with five sentences voicing his support of EFCA, which is less than he spoke on Lilly Ledbetter.