The United Auto Workers tried to rehash unions’ “proud” history for Labor Day 2021; unfortunately most of what they opined was misleading or more than a century old.
The UAW trotted out bumper-sticker rhetoric about union achievements, such as “the elimination of child labor, establishing the 8-hour work day as well as the weekend, raising the standards for education, skill levels, wages, working conditions, quality of life for all workers, and a voice in the workplace.”
Then, like good progressives, they said their mission has a long way to go, including “fighting voter suppression bills.”
The voter suppression claim is rich, considering how anti immigrant and outright racist, especially toward blacks, national unions like the American Federation of Labor were.
Seven decades ago, about 35% of American workers belonged to a union. Today, it’s only around 10% and falling, but more than one-third of public sector workers are still unionized, a rate five times higher than their private sector brethren.
During 2020, union membership decreased by 428,000 in the private sector, yet showed little change in government work, which is troubling.
Would you want to work for an employer who ignores your contributions and promotes solely on seniority? As unions refuse to adapt to modern society, union membership keeps falling.
Franklin Roosevelt arguably did more than any president to enable organized labor, yet FDR still realized unions had no place in government, writing during his second term, “All government workers should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service.”
He concluded that diatribe by claiming that strikes by public employees were “unthinkable and intolerable.”
Of course there are white and blue-collar unions; even millionaire actors and athletes have them.
As a former teacher I’ve spilled much ink — and wrote a book — exposing teachers unions’ unparalleled graft and malfeasance. And if the past 18 months did not confirm their truly nefarious aims, as they ignored science and morals to hurt America’s children, I cannot imagine what will.
Just check the numbers, use common sense, and ignore union propaganda, because that’s all they have left — on Labor Day or any time.
A.J. Kaufman
A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.
