WORKING

OF AND
RELATING TO
LABOR


Dismembered
American Social Life is In the Pits: Unions Are the Cause and the Cure

by Doug Collins
The Free Press


There's been a lot of discussion about the large decline in union membership in recent decades. But did you know that most other types of membership organizations have suffered the same declines? Take bowling. League bowling dropped 40 percent from 1980 to 1993, while the total number of bowlers increased 10 percent. In other words, more people are bowling, but they're doing it informally, not as a part of a team.
On the average, membership in groups has declined almost 30 percent between 1967 and 1993, according to the General Social Survey. Membership and volunteerism - in the Red Cross, the League of Women Voters, the Masons, Parent-Teacher Associations and almost any civic association you can name - is following the same downward route, after growing dramatically until the 1960s.
So perhaps unions aren't doing anything especially wrong, if everybody else is having the same problem. Perhaps.
Robert D. Putnam in his research article "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital" (Journal of Democracy, Jan. 1995) makes a practical argument that Americans should try to regain the level of sociability, membership, and civic engagement that they once enjoyed. These are, for example, linked with voter turnout, which has had a parallel decline of about 25 percent from 1960 to 1990.
Consider the benefits. Putnam points out that an America with more social contact would enjoy greater reciprocity, trust, communication, problem-solving resources, as well as "the social interaction and even occasionally civic conversations over beer and pizza that solo bowlers forego."
There has been a countertrend, however. Activist groups have particularly burgeoned since the 1960s. Groups such as the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women, and the American Association of Retired Persons have attracted millions of members. But for the vast majority of the membership, there is little social connectedness beyond an occasional newsletter. "The bond between any two members of the Sierra Club is less like the bond between any two members of a gardening club, and more like the bond between any two Red Sox fans," notes Putnam.
Many unions have sadly taken on the same asocial quality. What percent of union members have actually been to their union office in the last ten years? My guess is not many. Although some unions remain socially vibrant, many just collect dues and mail out self-praising newsletters to indifferent, marginalized employees. "The solidarity of union halls is now mostly a fading memory of aging men," Putnam writes.
Putnam is mostly right in his assessment of modern labor unions, but he misses the crucial importance of the labor movement in reviving American social life. Putnam hypothesizes a variety of reasons for our decline in sociability - such as more divorce, lower real wages, and the use of "individualizing" technology such as the VCR - but he ignores what is probably obvious to many workers: there just isn't any good time of day to be a member of something. The labor trends of the last few decades - shiftwork, weekend work, and the just-in-time scheduling whims of management - prevent a large chunk of our population from meeting with others on a regular basis. You can't bowl in a league under such circumstances; you just bowl when you can. Union rally at 8pm? Sorry, that's when I eat breakfast.
Another contributing factor that Putnam misses is the generation gap. Many declining organizations, such as the League of Women Voters and the Masons, simply are a bit old fashioned. Why would a young person join the Masons, except to hear the reminiscences of retired dry-goods merchants? Doing this might in fact be interesting, but it's not going to attract members in droves. Unions should be nervous about this generation trap. Older, devoted union members may feel comparatively comfortable in their nine-to-five jobs, secure retirement, and blind faith in Democrats. Younger workers are frazzled by tempwork, uncertainty, and an absurd political system. Unless American unions begin to confront the problems of younger and marginalized workers, the labor movement will probably just become another old folks club.
Weak, complacent, conciliating unions are what got us into our predicament, along with insensitive management and a corrupt lawmaking system. Active unions are what will get us out.


Please see a reader response to this article:
"Geographic Fragmentation" (WFP Issue 26 March/April 1997)







Working Around

UNITED STATES. The Labor Party is calling for a constitutional amendment which would guarantee everyone a job and a living wage. The party in its November publication stated that "There is no way around the slow, bottom-up job of winning millions of Americans to our point of view." The article cites the 1945 Full Employment Act, which was supported by 83 percent of Americans, but was watered down by business lobbying. The Labor Party's strategy is to undertake a huge grass-roots lobbying effort to win the necessary approval of three-fourths of the 50 state legislatures. To get involved locally call (206) 382-1752 or 526-8169. (Labor Party Press)

NORTH AMERICA. A net total of roughly 400,000 jobs have been lost in the US due to NAFTA, according to the Economic Policy Institute. NAFTA took effect in January 1994, and is also responsible for a $25 billion increase in the US trade deficit. Particularly hard hit have been manufacturing jobs for autos, televisions, communication equipment, and computers. The US gained some jobs over Mexico, such as 10,000 jobs from selling electronic components to Mexico. (Northwest Labor Press)

WASHINGTON, D.C. The 40-year-old AFL-CIO News is being replaced by a glossy magazine, America@work, which seems to have an emphasis on hip graphics, but also includes more info on activism than its predecessor, as well as an angrier tone, and practical organizing tips for union activists. The October issue counsels union leaders to not tell their members how to vote (inform them instead about issues), and to resist using insider union jargon when talking with members.
John Ambrosavage © 1996

DISNEYLAND. 17-year old Erin Lewellen was detained by security officers at Disneyland because she forgot to check-in her uniform after leaving her job at the Carnation ice cream shop. Park Security and a Disneyland supervisor questioned the girl for two hours, refusing to let her call her mother. Recently, the Orange County Register has interviewed more than 30 people who reported what they thought was abuse by Disneyland security. Seven have filed lawsuits in the past two months. Many said they were held for up to four hours with no access to telephone or bathroom. In three cases, parents alleged that security offered not to seek prosecution of minors if the parents paid $275 in civil damages. California law allows merchants to hold shoplifting suspects as long as is "reasonably necessary" for questioning. (ACLU Newswire)

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Contents on this page were published in the January/February, 1997 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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