New Deal Crackup
I was going to write an article about the collapse of the AFL-CIO, but Thomas Lifson beat me to it in the American Thinker, so I decided I would confine myself to a (hopefully) brief post here at Birdblog.
Everyone was shocked when the Berlin wall fell; no-one could believe that this symbol of totalitarianism, with us for so long, could melt away like a bad dream. The reality, of course was that forces were at work behind the scenes chipping away at the philosophical structure of that wall, and this made it`s fall all the more dramatic. Now, on the domestic scene, we are witnessing something comparable with the crackup of Big Labor and the AFL-CIO.
For fifty years the AFL-CIO has been the vanguard of the liberal/Democratic machine, and their influence has been crucial in keeping the Democrats viable despite their increasing radicalization. The AFL-CIO rejoined in 1955 after having split over how unions should organize. (The American Federation of Labor wanted to organize along trade lines, the Congress of Industrial Organizations wanted to do it in whole industries.) For the last 25 years , the umbrella organization has been a staunch advocate of radical liberalism, and a great enemy of conservatives and Republicans. Concurrent with this radical politicization of Big Labor, we have witnessed a steady decline in union membership in the United States, and it seemed inevitable that a crackup was was on the horizon. This crackup is now here, and the Republicans may have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break the old political alignments and forge a new coalition.
Unions were one of the pillars of the Democrat Party in America, and their association with the Democrats goes all the way back to Roosevelt and the New Deal. The New Deal coalition included Unions, Southerners (who still hated the Republicans for the Civil War), Farmers (who received subsidies from FDR), Minorities, Civil Service and Academia, and usually Catholics. The `60`s and 70`s saw the collapse of this traditional New Deal coalition, with the radicalization of the Democrats under Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and finally Jimmy Carter, who succeeded in losing the South for the Republicans, splitting away many Catholics, and losing some support from Labor-especially the AFL-CIO which was in the process of deradicalizing under George Meany during the `70`s.
According to Taylor Dark, author of ``The Unions and the Democrats`` , Meany was opposed to the left-wing social agenda of the Democrat Party, including gay rights, radical feminism, racial quotas, and environmentalism. He believed that the proper role of the AFL-CIO was to take direct action only in matters concerning the member Unions. His retirement in 1979 paved the way for greater radicalization of the coalition, reaching it`s peak with the election in 1996 of John Sweeney, who has since steered them in a more virulent direction. They have, in essence, become a shill for the Democrats.
Every member Union in the AFL-CIO has it`s own political action committee, and the AFl-CIO tries to coordinate their actions to maximize results; they generally get behind a candidate and steer the member PACs to follow. This strategy is very effective at getting the best bang for the buck, and delivering massive amounts of money to the Dems for their nefarious work. Getting these PACs to agree on a candidate, and not compete againt each-other, is a primary goal of the umbrella organization.
According to Dark, Bill Clinton`s nomination and election in 1992 showed the power of the AFL-CIO. He and Tom Harkin were the two most likely candidates supported by Big Labor, and the AFL-CIO chose Clinton. Clinton was very careful to downplay his Union ties, in order to maintaing his appearance of independence and moderation.
In recent years, the Labor movement has been struggling. Unionized private sector employement is below 8%! The backbone of the modern Labor movement lies in the government/public sector employees, who, with 40% unionized, clearly have a vested interest in Government being as large and complicated as possible. Increasingly, the winds of politics have been at the heart of Big Labor in America, and the Democrats have become the last, best hope for Unions.
This is at the heart of the crackup of the AFL-CIO; Sweeney wants to increase political funding and activism, while Andrew Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Hoffa at the Teamsters, want to focus more on active recruitment to build their numbers. As a result, the Teamsters and SEIU have announced plans to leave the coalition, while two other unions-the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and UNITE-HERE have boycotted the Biennial Convention (this is important; the convention is where elections are held and the agenda is set for the next two years.) Bear in mind, the Teamsters have bucked the AFL-CIO before; they endorsed Ronald Reagan for President in 1980!
I used to be a member of the UFCW; the were corrupt to the core. They decided that ALL union workers in the St. Louis area-including the part time bagboys and cashiers-should be given free health insurance. The insurance fund was supposed to be stuffed with money, but the Union wasn`t going to pay out of pocket; they demanded that the grocery industry pay for full health coverage. The company I worked for had a different contract than the main chains, and our agreement was up before the big boys, so the Union decided to use us as a test case. The company refused to play ball, and the Union stopped us from striking, so for four years we worked without a contract. All the while the Union told us that the company was escrowing our pension money, and when the dispute was finally settled we learned that we had lost four years on our pension, and the company declared bankruptcy! Everyone who had started with this company was at 9 years towards vestment, and the UFCW required 10 years, so we lost it all! It turns out our Union Rep who negotiated the deal was the best friend of our company president! We all found ourselves unemployed with no pension thanks to our wonderful union! I had to pay dues to them for years, and all I ever got out of it was a lousy commemorative pin!
At any rate, what we are witnessing is massive reorganization of one of the principle pillars of the New Deal Coalition. The AFL-CIO will be losing nearly one third of their 13 million members, with the subsequent loss of future dues along with $7 million owed by these four unions in back dues, and while these unions will continue to fund political mischief, the loss of coordination means that the union money will be far less effective.
Bear in mind Stern is no conservative, and he is absolutely not going to completely defund the Democrats. Still, he is going to diver funds away from political action in favor of recruitment efforts (he wanted $60 million more allocated from the AFL-CIO than was budged for recruitment.)
My father-in-law is John E. Dunsford, Professor of Labor Law at St. Louis University, a Chester A. Meyers Professor of Law Scholar, and one of the country`s top labor arbitrators. His opinion is that political activism has angered the rank-and-file of the unions, and that what we are witnessing is as much a result of that anger as anything. The average union man may be socially liberal, but he bleeds red-white-and blue, and the disgraceful behavior of the Democrats regarding Iraq and the War has, in Professor Dunsford`s opinion, deeply angered them. This, along with the personal ambitions of the union bosses and the continual decline of Unionism, is at the heart of the current crack-up.
The fact is, Unionism is dying. There are many reasons for this-the rise of small businesses in America, the end of the Industrial economy, the desire for more flexibility on the job leading to more ``independent contractors`` and a less formalized workforce, greater prosperity in general, globalization, etc. have all eroded Big Labor. Less than 12 percent of Americans are union members; down from over 35% in the 1950`s. If unions still wish to be relevant, they are going to have to undergo a dramatic reorganization.
Thanks to President Bush, that help may be on the way; with (at minimum) 10 million illegal aliens currently living and working inside of the borders of the United States, and with millions more on the way, Big Labor has an unprecedented opportunity. Most illegals work in service oriented position; farm work, gardeners, hotel and restaurant staff, housekeeping, etc. If President Bush gets his Guest Worker bill, and he is determined to do just that these millions of low-wage workers will be ripe for the picking. Millions more will flood into the country, since the force of law will no longer prevent them. If Labor is smart, they will begin devising a way to recruit these millions for themselves and the Democrat Party.
President Bush is relying on the gratitude of these formerly illegal aliens to build a dominant, New Deal style coalition of Republicans. He should take a page from history; Republicans freed the slaves, gave them the franchise, and were the main supporters of the Civil Rights Movement, and yet blacks overwhelmingly vote with the Democrats. Why? Because the Democrats were willing to prostitute themselves, were willing to give money to buy the black vote. Gratitude is a poor motivator of people; cold, hard cash works much better.
So how do the Republicans deal with this situation? They now have an unprecedented opportunity to split union votes from their rivals, but they need to listen to the wants and needs of the rank-and-file. Real Immigration reform would be very popular with the average union man, who understands that illegals are taking jobs away from Americans. The Republicans should push for major tax relief-particularly in the field of estate taxes and other portions of the tax code which affect the middle class. Health Savings Accounts and School Choice can also be used to draw union votes away from the Democrats. Finally, President Bush needs to do a much better job of communicating about the War. Most union workers are very patriotic, and they support whoever is in office in times of War. The President needs to make certain that the average joe understands what is happening and where we are going in the War. The Union workers were the men who stormed Omaha Beach, who died in the fields at Frozen Chosen, who crawled through the mud in Vietnam, who marched through the desert sands in Kuwait. They`ll be ready when their country needs them, and they`ll not shirk their duties now.
The Republicans have an unprecedent opportunity; let`s hope they don`t blow it!
Everyone was shocked when the Berlin wall fell; no-one could believe that this symbol of totalitarianism, with us for so long, could melt away like a bad dream. The reality, of course was that forces were at work behind the scenes chipping away at the philosophical structure of that wall, and this made it`s fall all the more dramatic. Now, on the domestic scene, we are witnessing something comparable with the crackup of Big Labor and the AFL-CIO.
For fifty years the AFL-CIO has been the vanguard of the liberal/Democratic machine, and their influence has been crucial in keeping the Democrats viable despite their increasing radicalization. The AFL-CIO rejoined in 1955 after having split over how unions should organize. (The American Federation of Labor wanted to organize along trade lines, the Congress of Industrial Organizations wanted to do it in whole industries.) For the last 25 years , the umbrella organization has been a staunch advocate of radical liberalism, and a great enemy of conservatives and Republicans. Concurrent with this radical politicization of Big Labor, we have witnessed a steady decline in union membership in the United States, and it seemed inevitable that a crackup was was on the horizon. This crackup is now here, and the Republicans may have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break the old political alignments and forge a new coalition.
Unions were one of the pillars of the Democrat Party in America, and their association with the Democrats goes all the way back to Roosevelt and the New Deal. The New Deal coalition included Unions, Southerners (who still hated the Republicans for the Civil War), Farmers (who received subsidies from FDR), Minorities, Civil Service and Academia, and usually Catholics. The `60`s and 70`s saw the collapse of this traditional New Deal coalition, with the radicalization of the Democrats under Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, and finally Jimmy Carter, who succeeded in losing the South for the Republicans, splitting away many Catholics, and losing some support from Labor-especially the AFL-CIO which was in the process of deradicalizing under George Meany during the `70`s.
According to Taylor Dark, author of ``The Unions and the Democrats`` , Meany was opposed to the left-wing social agenda of the Democrat Party, including gay rights, radical feminism, racial quotas, and environmentalism. He believed that the proper role of the AFL-CIO was to take direct action only in matters concerning the member Unions. His retirement in 1979 paved the way for greater radicalization of the coalition, reaching it`s peak with the election in 1996 of John Sweeney, who has since steered them in a more virulent direction. They have, in essence, become a shill for the Democrats.
Every member Union in the AFL-CIO has it`s own political action committee, and the AFl-CIO tries to coordinate their actions to maximize results; they generally get behind a candidate and steer the member PACs to follow. This strategy is very effective at getting the best bang for the buck, and delivering massive amounts of money to the Dems for their nefarious work. Getting these PACs to agree on a candidate, and not compete againt each-other, is a primary goal of the umbrella organization.
According to Dark, Bill Clinton`s nomination and election in 1992 showed the power of the AFL-CIO. He and Tom Harkin were the two most likely candidates supported by Big Labor, and the AFL-CIO chose Clinton. Clinton was very careful to downplay his Union ties, in order to maintaing his appearance of independence and moderation.
In recent years, the Labor movement has been struggling. Unionized private sector employement is below 8%! The backbone of the modern Labor movement lies in the government/public sector employees, who, with 40% unionized, clearly have a vested interest in Government being as large and complicated as possible. Increasingly, the winds of politics have been at the heart of Big Labor in America, and the Democrats have become the last, best hope for Unions.
This is at the heart of the crackup of the AFL-CIO; Sweeney wants to increase political funding and activism, while Andrew Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Hoffa at the Teamsters, want to focus more on active recruitment to build their numbers. As a result, the Teamsters and SEIU have announced plans to leave the coalition, while two other unions-the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and UNITE-HERE have boycotted the Biennial Convention (this is important; the convention is where elections are held and the agenda is set for the next two years.) Bear in mind, the Teamsters have bucked the AFL-CIO before; they endorsed Ronald Reagan for President in 1980!
I used to be a member of the UFCW; the were corrupt to the core. They decided that ALL union workers in the St. Louis area-including the part time bagboys and cashiers-should be given free health insurance. The insurance fund was supposed to be stuffed with money, but the Union wasn`t going to pay out of pocket; they demanded that the grocery industry pay for full health coverage. The company I worked for had a different contract than the main chains, and our agreement was up before the big boys, so the Union decided to use us as a test case. The company refused to play ball, and the Union stopped us from striking, so for four years we worked without a contract. All the while the Union told us that the company was escrowing our pension money, and when the dispute was finally settled we learned that we had lost four years on our pension, and the company declared bankruptcy! Everyone who had started with this company was at 9 years towards vestment, and the UFCW required 10 years, so we lost it all! It turns out our Union Rep who negotiated the deal was the best friend of our company president! We all found ourselves unemployed with no pension thanks to our wonderful union! I had to pay dues to them for years, and all I ever got out of it was a lousy commemorative pin!
At any rate, what we are witnessing is massive reorganization of one of the principle pillars of the New Deal Coalition. The AFL-CIO will be losing nearly one third of their 13 million members, with the subsequent loss of future dues along with $7 million owed by these four unions in back dues, and while these unions will continue to fund political mischief, the loss of coordination means that the union money will be far less effective.
Bear in mind Stern is no conservative, and he is absolutely not going to completely defund the Democrats. Still, he is going to diver funds away from political action in favor of recruitment efforts (he wanted $60 million more allocated from the AFL-CIO than was budged for recruitment.)
My father-in-law is John E. Dunsford, Professor of Labor Law at St. Louis University, a Chester A. Meyers Professor of Law Scholar, and one of the country`s top labor arbitrators. His opinion is that political activism has angered the rank-and-file of the unions, and that what we are witnessing is as much a result of that anger as anything. The average union man may be socially liberal, but he bleeds red-white-and blue, and the disgraceful behavior of the Democrats regarding Iraq and the War has, in Professor Dunsford`s opinion, deeply angered them. This, along with the personal ambitions of the union bosses and the continual decline of Unionism, is at the heart of the current crack-up.
The fact is, Unionism is dying. There are many reasons for this-the rise of small businesses in America, the end of the Industrial economy, the desire for more flexibility on the job leading to more ``independent contractors`` and a less formalized workforce, greater prosperity in general, globalization, etc. have all eroded Big Labor. Less than 12 percent of Americans are union members; down from over 35% in the 1950`s. If unions still wish to be relevant, they are going to have to undergo a dramatic reorganization.
Thanks to President Bush, that help may be on the way; with (at minimum) 10 million illegal aliens currently living and working inside of the borders of the United States, and with millions more on the way, Big Labor has an unprecedented opportunity. Most illegals work in service oriented position; farm work, gardeners, hotel and restaurant staff, housekeeping, etc. If President Bush gets his Guest Worker bill, and he is determined to do just that these millions of low-wage workers will be ripe for the picking. Millions more will flood into the country, since the force of law will no longer prevent them. If Labor is smart, they will begin devising a way to recruit these millions for themselves and the Democrat Party.
President Bush is relying on the gratitude of these formerly illegal aliens to build a dominant, New Deal style coalition of Republicans. He should take a page from history; Republicans freed the slaves, gave them the franchise, and were the main supporters of the Civil Rights Movement, and yet blacks overwhelmingly vote with the Democrats. Why? Because the Democrats were willing to prostitute themselves, were willing to give money to buy the black vote. Gratitude is a poor motivator of people; cold, hard cash works much better.
So how do the Republicans deal with this situation? They now have an unprecedented opportunity to split union votes from their rivals, but they need to listen to the wants and needs of the rank-and-file. Real Immigration reform would be very popular with the average union man, who understands that illegals are taking jobs away from Americans. The Republicans should push for major tax relief-particularly in the field of estate taxes and other portions of the tax code which affect the middle class. Health Savings Accounts and School Choice can also be used to draw union votes away from the Democrats. Finally, President Bush needs to do a much better job of communicating about the War. Most union workers are very patriotic, and they support whoever is in office in times of War. The President needs to make certain that the average joe understands what is happening and where we are going in the War. The Union workers were the men who stormed Omaha Beach, who died in the fields at Frozen Chosen, who crawled through the mud in Vietnam, who marched through the desert sands in Kuwait. They`ll be ready when their country needs them, and they`ll not shirk their duties now.
The Republicans have an unprecedent opportunity; let`s hope they don`t blow it!
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 3:16 PM
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