Transcript Outline - Widener University

Outline
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Syllabus Review
 Web

Site
Introductions
 Me:
Stuart Eimer
 You: ?

Assignment
Me…
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Stuart Eimer: From Sayreville, NJ…Exit 11 near NYC
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Grew up in a Union Household…electricians
Education Scholarship from Father’s Union
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Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Studies and Researched Organized Labor in America
Widener University Since 2000
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Majored in Sociology & Journalism
Intro to Sociology, Unions, Social Class, Poverty, Service Learning
Continue to Research unions…mostly SEIU
Live in Collingswood NJ up by Philly…
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Raise my kids, camp, hike, poke around Philly, fish, read, music…
You…
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Name?
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Major?
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Why are you taking a class on unions, labor and society?
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Career goal…if you have one?
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Do you know if you are likely to be in a union?
Any connection to unions?
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Have you ever been in one? Are you in one now? Are your parents
or spouses in unions?
Assignment
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Read assigned readings…answer questions.
Sociology 325
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1. Stuff
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Web Site
Syllabus, readings, books, review questions
2. General Overview…Getting You to Scratch Your Head
Solidarity Bingo: What we know and don’t know
 Union Density Overtime
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3. Introduction to the Structure of Organized Labor
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A word on notes:
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Don’t just copy…try to synthesize and summarize in your
brain…jot down in your own words…Charts should not be
ignored…they should be summarized with words
Unions in the News:Extra credit
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If you pay attention…you’ll see the unions all around you
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Camden police, firefighter talks stalled, Inquirer, 1/13/11
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NJEA president offers to meet with Gov. Christie on his education
proposals , 1/11/11
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U.A.W. to Renew Organizing Efforts at Foreign-Owned Plants, NYT
1/12/11
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Value Of 'Right To Work' Laws Debated, Fox News Philadelphia 1/12/11
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Enjoy the NFL playoffs, but watch for the lockout Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel, 1/12/11
What do you know???
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Solidarity Bingo
Few know much about labor or labor
history…
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The New York Times article “45 Dead” describes what
happened in Ludlow, Colorado.
What happened that prompted The New York Times
to write a story?
Had you heard of these events before?
Were you surprised by the level of violence? Why or
why not?
Ludlow Massacre…Real Class
Warfare
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Famous Woody Guthrie Song…Woody Guthrie?
Parts of world are still like this…Columbia?
Despite Violent Opposition, Union
Density Grows
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As work shifts from
the farm fields to
the factories
people organize
unions
Union Density
 The
percentage of
wage and salary
workers in unions
(Chaison 2006 49)
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http://madeinamericathebook.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/labor%E2%80%99s-laboring-efforts/
Union membership as a percentage of the
nonagricultural labor force, 1930-1945
Correlation?
Unions Redistribute Income
MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS OF FULL-TIME
WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS, 2000
The Percent of Workers Who Belong to Unions
Now
35%
30%
25%
20%
2006
15%
10%
5%
0%
2006
1935
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2000
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Labor Statistics, 1980.
Also, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January various years.
Union Density by State - 1983
0% to 9%
10% to 20%
Source: Union Members in 1983, Bureau of Labor Statistics
21% & over
Union Density by State - 2006
0% to 9%
10% to 20%
Source: Union Members In 2006, Bureau of Labor Statistics
21% & over
Unions Concentrated in Key Industries
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1946, Core of Economy
almost completely union
80-100% unionized
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Aircraft, Aluminum, Auto,
Breweries, Clothing, Electrical
Machinery, Meat packing,
Rubber, Shipbuilding Steel,
Coal, Construction, Long
shoring, Trucking
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2009, Core of Economy
moslty non union
Today…Closer to 20%
 Coal
20%
 Shipbuilding 20%
 MeatPacking 22%
 Construction
 Aluminum 25%
 Auto 18%
Predictions about Inequality?
Unions Decline…Inequality Grows
But Workers in One Sector of the Economy Have
Seen Density Increase…Anyone?
35%
30%
25%
20%
2006
15%
10%
5%
0%
2006
1935
1945
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2000
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Handbook of Labor Statistics, 1980.
Also, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January various years.
A Shift in Density Within the
Economy
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Unions decline in private sector,
but grow in public sector
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Teachers, Cops, Firemen, Social
Workers, Nurses, University Staff,
Department of Motor Vehicles, Toll
collectors, Snow plow drivers, etc.
Percent Unionized
40.00%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
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National Education Association is
now the largest union in the nation
20.00%
Private
15.00%
Public
10.00%
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Private Sector unions
decline…wages stagnate for most
Americans…taxes on wealthiest
citizens are reduced…Predictions
about conflicts over public sector
unions?
5.00%
0.00%
1950 1970
1990
American Union Density Compared
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As capitalism develops, unions develop
First across Europe and North
America…then Latin America, Africa,
Asia…
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China is fascinating place to watch right
now?
How does union density in US compare
to other advanced industrial capitalist
nations?
Unions & Modern Society…
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US labor
movement is
smaller &
weaker than in
most other
advanced
industrial
capitalist
societies
Mandatory Assignment Due
Tuesday
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More specific directions will be
provided on website
Choose the occupation closest
to what you are doing
 Unionstats.com
 Record
% Members (percent of
people in that occupation who
are members of a unions
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Will also be asked to
compare wages for
unionized members
of that occupation
and non-unionized
members
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Table 4. Median
weekly earnings of
full-time wage and
salary workers by
union affiliation,
occupation, and
industry
Structure of Organized Labor: The
Local Union
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For most union members, the most extensive
interaction is through the local union
 33,000
local unions in the US
 Workers
can attend union meetings and vote for
local union officers
 Locals
initiate grievance processing and direct
strike or picketing activities
(Kochan CB slide)
The Structure of Organized Labor:
National Unions
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National unions are the center of organizational
power within most trade unions in the United States
 They
are involved in the negotiation of collective
bargaining agreements
 They
sanction and provide assistance to their member
local unions
 They
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craft and carry out political action
(Kochan CB Slide)
A Fragmented Labor Movement
UFCW 8.3%
AFT 7.6%
Teamsters 9.3%
UAW 5.0%
IBEW
AFSCME 9.8%
4.9%
CWA 4.8%
UNITE HERE 3.4%
SEIU 10.6%
26%
52 smallest unions
IAM 2.8%
USWA 2.7%
Laborers 2.7%
IUOE 2.1%
So what organizations do these union
members belong to?
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Currently, there are two major Federations of national unions
1)American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial
Organizations (AFL-CIO)
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2)Change to Win
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Have no formal authority activities of member national unions
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Similar to UN or NFL
Play important role in political mobilization and lobbying at the
local, state and national level
Structure of Organized Labor in US
AFL-CIO
PA AFL-CIO
Phila AFL-CIO
(Central Labor Council)
National Union
IBEW
Local Union
IBEW Local 98
Structure of Organized Labor in US
Change to Win
PA AFL-CIO
Phila AFL-CIO
(Central Labor Council)
National Union
SEIU
Local Union
SEIU Local 32BJ
Next…
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Thinking about the function of unions…