Will Work For Change

The decline of organized labor has been well-documented, and today's move by the Service Employees and Teamsters to quit the AFL-CIO could either save or scuttle it in the long run. In the short run, however, it will almost without a doubt hurt labor, which will now feature competition among existing unionists instead of outreach to those on the fringe. Econo-politically, the rift is telling. While I haven't done real research into this, the Post story makes clear that the dominant forces in the AFL-CIO recently have been the teachers' unions and the public servants' unions, and the grievance of those in the other camp (teamsters, service workers, carpenters, and others tied to the non-manufacturing private sector) has been that too much time and money is spent on politics, too little on affecting change at the grassroots. In short, labor (part of it, anyway) is becoming conservative. If not in goals, in methods. The leadership has realized that no amount of political sway and no quantity of handouts can save the union way of life. Just like in the early days of organized labor, the impetus for change and results has to come from the workers themselves, not edict-issuers behind mahogany desks. Hopefully, some of the union leaders have realized that manufacturing cannot be saved by demanding more concessions of companies already on the rocks. When labor first organized, it was effective because owners was taking the lion's share of profits. Now, a lion would starve on the profits most manufacturing concerns are making. This is not an easy time for anyone in the industry, but InstantReplay applauds leaders in labor and business who can come up with creative ways to keep Americans working - and we condemn those who think they can turn back the clock to 1970.