R.C. Karich
4/7/2016
David Hunter's commentary on the working-class victory resulting from the Supreme Court deadlock on the issue of mandatory union dues is biased at best and outright nonsense at worst. His column basically blames capitalism for the current decline in working-class middle incomes.
Industry in the late 1800s and early 1900s certainly abused the working class in terms of both pay and working conditions. The unions that resulted from this abuse did have an immense impact on both wages and working conditions.
Fast forward to the 1980s, when much of the gains by unions became federal law and the National Labor Relations Board protected both companies and employees. Japan in particular and Asia in general began manufacturing higher-quality products at lower costs while major unions' only concerns were higher wages and devastating work rules. The accumulation of these factors, including management issues, resulted in the closing of most of our heavy industrial companies that provided high-income jobs. Not only did semi-skilled workers lose their jobs, but those filled by college graduates in manufacturing, engineering and management also disappeared.
The implied commentary that a "resurgence of labor unions" will improve middle-class wages is ludicrous.
For the middle-income working class to have a resurgence, we need our industries back. This will require changes in taxes, a workforce embracing technology and reasonable regulations. Maybe most important, it requires a government with a realistic view of global climate change that places jobs above idealistic environmental goals and does not ignore the fact that climate change is global. Without question, a ton of steel produced in the U.S. generates far fewer emissions than a ton of steel produced in China or India.
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