August 30, 2006
A Call to Preserve Labor’s Gains
This Labor Day, I am freshly reminded of the struggles and sacrifices that made possible the decent pay and working conditions that most Iowans enjoy today. In late August, I visited an excellent museum in Lucas, Iowa that is dedicated to the famous United Mine Workers leader and former Lucas resident John L. Lewis. The museum includes old photos of the grimy and hazardous conditions endured by Iowa’s early coal miners, many of whom were young boys.
As the son of an Iowa coal miner, the museum in Lucas really struck a chord with me (one display included old carbide lamps, just like the ones my dad had from his mining days). At the same time, it reminded me that union members were on the front lines fighting for the 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, employer-provided health insurance and pensions. Organized labor led the way in passing legislation to ensure fair and safe workplaces and in championing many other employee safety nets such as Social Security, Medicare, and the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Unfortunately, many of the great achievements of the 20th century labor movement are under attack as we move into the 21st century. Powerful groups are attempting to roll back workers’ right to family and medical leave. The minimum wage has been frozen for the last nine years. At the current $5.15 an hour level, it is not a living wage. It is a poverty wage. And this year, the Sago and Melville mine disasters reminded us that skimping on worker safety can lead to tragic results.
Meanwhile, private companies have been allowed to default on their pensions, threatening the retirement security of millions of Americans. And the drive to privatize Social Security threatens to dramatically slash future benefits.
Why is the clock being turned backward? Why are Americans’ hard-earned workplace and employee rights being eroded? Certainly, a big factor is the shrinking of union membership in recent decades. In 2005, 12.5 percent of workers were union members, down from a high of 20 percent in 1983. Historically, unions have given Americans a strong voice in their workplace. Today, fewer and fewer workers have that advantage.
So this Labor Day should be a wake-up call. The gains of past decades – everything from the 40-hour workweek to a meaningful minimum wage – are threatened. It is time for ordinary Iowans to speak up – and to write to your members of Congress – in defense of workplace rights and the pillars of economic security. We can’t allow our hard won victories to slip away.