Labor Day now has fewer parades and even less organized labor involvement as the American worker is facing a new reality. The real celebration of the traditional long weekend now rightly resides in backyards and neighborhoods of the people the holiday was originally intended to honor. The changes are better, reflecting market economies and the resourcefulness of the American worker.
Labor unions questionable future rests with their ability to serve a greater good than simply increasing wages. The irony of the massive dwindling of labor unions (from 45% of the US workforce in the 1950’s to less than 14% today) is the growing base of non-union workers putting in more hours, increasing safety concerns, lowering the quality of life with less net income and shrinking benefits. In the past this was fertile ground for union organizers.
Safety should be an issue that labor unions own but they seem only focused on protecting hourly wages against market realities. Air traffic control, trucking hours of service, mining practices, hospital care, product reliability, construction issues are just a few of the areas big business deflect tragic incidents as acceptable percentages with organized labor being invisible on these issues. Tragically neither has a vision for what needs to be a collaborative effort on US global market competitiveness and future relevance. The old methods of one dimensional economics do not leverage our resources and market potentials. The old objectives are held onto desperately to protect outdated mindsets.
Labor should reinvent themselves, being much more inclusive of the entire US labor markets, appealing with deliverable values to salaried, small business and home based entrepreneurs. Evolving to incorporate similarly what other associations have done in gathering all relevant data that serves market needs (safety stats/tips; efficiency ideas; profits/capital, addressing behavior problems; accountability and gain share results to name a few) is practical and addresses a clear need.
Management should embrace the employee as partner for prosperity rather than necessary evil. Communicating impact issues like ongoing balance sheets in language and presentation all can understand, sharing industry trends and risk assessments, encouraging and rewarding employee contributions in ideas for profitable growth, safety, HR, pay/benefits, etc. This must be done in small groups with Q&A, not just newsletter spins from marketing.
True, the passing of the industrial revolution to the knowledge age has for many reasons displaced much of our production and industrial might. However we still are a manufacturing and services world power with all of the noted labor issues relevant even in the 21st century. Our new service economy is uniquely geared to accommodate nimble small business start ups, the entrepreneur and home based businesses. There is a void of support mechanisms that neither organized labor nor big business are filling.
Labor unions can and should be the leaders in safety advocacy, employee accountability and productivity and process improvements for each industry. They should be leaders in consumer advocacy. They should be leaders in presenting fair and balanced reporting of wages, benefits by industry with global competitive realities. They should be leaders in non-discrimination whether race, gender, faith or diverse background. They should be leaders in worker training and cross industry mobility. They will not however as neither their current membership nor leadership have any desire to accomplish anything other than holding on to their death the shrinking objective of wage improvements. Increased wages and benefits can only come with businesses increased profitable growth.
Big business can and should be the leader each of these areas as well but are rarely as they are focused on wealth accumulation with lip service to anything other than what services this objective. Old established big businesses in transportation, manufacturing and technology have outsourced, reinvented their purposes or gone out of business, creating turmoil to every day workers, forcing these workers to seek other livelihoods.
Turning to the government is not the answer as our democracy is not designed, nor should be for a socialistic approach. Regulations are already in place, leveraged by interest groups that keep the fight rigged with no awareness to domestic realities that the battle for jobs has been lost to a more efficient and effective global economy.
The future of US market relevance, productivity, safety, wealth generation and accountability sits squarely on the shoulders of individual workers. The explosive increase in entrepreneurial small business start ups and home base businesses will evolve into value driven associations that provide informed and realistic guidance on safety, wages, benefits, training to needs /results, market opportunities, efficiency ideas, economic tools and much more. Instead of the US economic clout coming from old big business mainstays, we are already seeing new companies’ crop up and evolve literally overnight in a sea of entrepreneurism, small businesses and home based wealth generators.
The US worker is taking personal accountability and investing in their own economic livelihoods. They understand that there is no value in pointing fingers, living in the past or ignoring reality.
Labor Day no longer has any meaning for organized labor to celebrate or for big business to rue the long weekend of lost productivity. Americans' are embracing this Labor Day to recharge their energies, value their families and freedoms to individually build the knowledge, skills and experiences to take ownership of their livelihoods. No doubt disappointed in their unions, employers and government for the lack of visionaries or leadership, yet embracing their potential and dreams to build security for their families with their own resources and inventiveness.
Like the mythological Narcissus, the American worker has looked at their reflection in the gleam of global markets and likes what they see, ignoring the seductress nymph Echo repeating the refrains of labor unions, big business and government officials. We are pursuing our own happiness, morphing into a new flower of beauty and wonder in the new global economy.
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