Labor Day

Ran into an interesting piece in, of all places, USA Today. It described how the labor movement is changing tactics to fight off Wal-Mart anti-unionization and help workers gain a better life.

Instead of going through the long battle for union certification and the rest, they're organizing worker "associations", simply voluntary groups which allow workers to meet, plan and lobby for better pay and working conditions. By casting themselves as consultants as well as organizers, the movement can do a lot more for workers with less.

The American labor movement has never been the equal of its European counterparts. It's never been able to organize anything close to a Labor Party. A lot of this is due to the nature of the American worker and society.

Every Saturday night as a kid I'd take my bath, then turn on the "Flintstones", a nice cartoon blend of "The Honeymooners" and "The Life of Reilly." Fred was a blue-collar guy, moving rocks for a living. But he lived a middle class life. His wife didn't work and loved her credit cards, and Fred pulled into a nice bungalow with garage at the end of every work day. This was and is the image of the workingman (and woman). It's a pretty bourgeois life.

As a result, the American worker has generally considered himself or herself one of the owning class. This has been propelled by the fact that workers nowadays often own and direct part of their own retirement plans through 401(k)'s and the life, and the shift away from manufacturing to office work, even for the grunts. Son and daughter at the tech firm may earn proportionately less than Dad did at the car plant, but they wear business clothes to work, can manage their portfolio from their desk over lunch and don't have to get their hands dirty at work. They think they're even better off.

So the challenge for the labor movement is to recast itself from class warriors to business consultants. It isn't the shop floor vs. the big office. It's working on behalf of your retirement investments, your health coverage and leave policy, as a matter of business. No more firebreathing union meetings. You want a better deal? Get some of the officemates together and we'll meet after work. After all, with no health care policy to rely on, Social Security under fire and the high cost of a tank of gas, you gotta know where and how to cut the best deal with your boss. And labor is here to help.