Great letter, Mike! Meta-arguments like this which attempt to correct the historical record are really important, but in the rush of day-to-day politics, you don't see them that often. If you send it anywhere else though, I would suggest adding something like "in their present form" after "in order for them to survive" in the 6th paragraph so that the entire sentence would read:
"American labor unions continue to call for more regulation of business because, in order for them to survive in their present form, they must convince workers -- and society -- that 'the company is the enemy.'"
It's safe to say that most people want labor unions to exist in *some* form, and if they think the unions calling companies "the enemy" is essential to the very survival of organized labor, they will presumably view such attitudes more sympathetically. I think it's in our interests to show people that labor could exist to serve the interests of workers without taking such an anti-capitalist stance. After all, it is not really in the interests of workers to have an adversarial relationship with the companies they work for, any more than it is in the interests of companies to have an adversarial relationship with their workers.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
SF Business Times
September 2-8
Don’t thank your employer, thank organized labor for the three day weekend.
Dear Editor,
In your letters to the editor, Northern California Carpenters executive director Bob Alvarado restates the old myth that organized labor is responsible for increases in workers’ leisure time. In doing so, he does a great disservice to employers and the capitalist system truly responsible for this phenomenon.
In the U.S. the average work week was 61 hours in 1870, compared to 34 hours today, and this near doubling of leisure time for American workers was caused by capitalism, not unionism. Union labor’s share of private labor markets has been declining with increases in worker leisure from the beginning.
The steady rise in living standards in capitalist countries is due to private capital investment, entrepreneurship, technological advance, and a better educated workforce. Labor unions routinely take credit for all of this while pursuing policies which impede the very institutions responsible for worker prosperity.
The shorter work week is entirely a capitalist invention. As capital investment caused the marginal productivity of labor to increase over time, less labor was required to produce the same levels of output. As competition became more intense, many employers competed for the best employees by offering both better pay and shorter hours. Those who did not offer shorter work weeks were compelled by the forces of competition to offer higher compensating wages or become uncompetitive in the labor market.
Investments in technology, from the fork lift, container freight, air-conditioned farm tractors to the robots used in automobile factories, have also made the American workplace more productive and safer. But unions have oftenopposedsuch technology with the Luddite argument that it "destroys jobs."
American labor unions continue to call for more regulation of business because, in order for them to survive, they must convince workers—and society—that "the company is the enemy." That’s why union propaganda like Mr. Alvarado’s has always been anti-employer. Workers supposedly need to be protected from "the enemy" by labor unions. The well-paid union officials may keep their jobs and their perks by perpetuating such propaganda, but they are harming the very people who pay the dues and the employers who pay their salaries.
So please do thank ALL workers, their employers and the capitalist system for the blessings of leisure each and every Labor Day.
Michael Denny
San Francisco, CA
(415) 986-7677 x123
mike@theDennys.org
SPONSORED LINKS
<image.tiff>
<image.tiff>
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
+ Visit your group "lpsf-activists" on the web.
+ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
lpsf-activists-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com+ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
<image.tiff>