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Truthmatters
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-election-death-blow-labor-unions-527280
Trump's Election May be the Death Blow for Labor Unions
By Raymond Hogler On 12/3/16 at 6:00 AM
I’ve*written before*on how the decline of*organized labor*beginning in the late 1970s gave birth to the backlash that fueled Donald Trump’s election.
Labor’s deterioration weakened worker protections,*kept wages stagnant*and caused*income inequality*to soar to the*highest levels in over eight decades. It also made workers feel they needed a savior like Trump.
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In other words, his unlikely victory follows a straight line from the defeat of the*Labor Reform Act of 1978*to the election of 2016. That bill would have modernized and empowered unions through more effective recognition procedures accompanied by enhanced power in negotiations. Instead, its death by filibuster became the beginning of their end.
It’s a sad twist of irony that Trump’s election and Republican dominance across the country may finally destroy once and for all the*institution most responsible*for working- and middle-class prosperity. It will likely be a three-punch fight, ending with a fatal blow: the expansion of right-to-work laws across the country that would permanently empty the pockets of labor unions, eroding them of virtually all their collective solidarity.
How we got here
In 1980, union membership density stood at 23 percent of the work force; some 40 years later, just over 11 percent of American workers*belong to unions. During the same period, wealth inequality in the U.S. continued to accelerate largely on a*social class basis.
White males without college degrees reacted to their ongoing misery in 2016 with a political transformation unrivaled since*Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s electoral victory in 1932. The election’s*postmortem pundits*offered differing explanations for Trump’s victory, including racism, sexism and the ennui of Hillary Clinton supporters.
A popular narrative argues that deteriorating economic conditions provided the fuel for the Trump conflagration as it swept through the former union strongholds of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.
Three blows for labor
Despite the enthusiasm of his working-class supporters, Trump’s economic policies would bring them a raw deal, not a New Deal. Three key areas will play a crucial role in union diminution and workers’ bargaining power during Trump’s administration, with further declines in real hourly earnings.
The first is regulatory. On his inauguration, Trump has the opportunity to appoint two new members to the National Labor Relations Board now controlled by Obama appointees with administrative discretion to*implement pro-labor decisions. With their new majority, Republican appointees*will have a smorgasbord of past cases and regulations*to repeal and replace. Trump’s future replacements undoubtedly will promote a business-friendly agenda, and the board’s shift in emphasis will be immediately apparent.
Trump's Election May be the Death Blow for Labor Unions
By Raymond Hogler On 12/3/16 at 6:00 AM
I’ve*written before*on how the decline of*organized labor*beginning in the late 1970s gave birth to the backlash that fueled Donald Trump’s election.
Labor’s deterioration weakened worker protections,*kept wages stagnant*and caused*income inequality*to soar to the*highest levels in over eight decades. It also made workers feel they needed a savior like Trump.
Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week
In other words, his unlikely victory follows a straight line from the defeat of the*Labor Reform Act of 1978*to the election of 2016. That bill would have modernized and empowered unions through more effective recognition procedures accompanied by enhanced power in negotiations. Instead, its death by filibuster became the beginning of their end.
It’s a sad twist of irony that Trump’s election and Republican dominance across the country may finally destroy once and for all the*institution most responsible*for working- and middle-class prosperity. It will likely be a three-punch fight, ending with a fatal blow: the expansion of right-to-work laws across the country that would permanently empty the pockets of labor unions, eroding them of virtually all their collective solidarity.
How we got here
In 1980, union membership density stood at 23 percent of the work force; some 40 years later, just over 11 percent of American workers*belong to unions. During the same period, wealth inequality in the U.S. continued to accelerate largely on a*social class basis.
White males without college degrees reacted to their ongoing misery in 2016 with a political transformation unrivaled since*Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s electoral victory in 1932. The election’s*postmortem pundits*offered differing explanations for Trump’s victory, including racism, sexism and the ennui of Hillary Clinton supporters.
A popular narrative argues that deteriorating economic conditions provided the fuel for the Trump conflagration as it swept through the former union strongholds of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.
Three blows for labor
Despite the enthusiasm of his working-class supporters, Trump’s economic policies would bring them a raw deal, not a New Deal. Three key areas will play a crucial role in union diminution and workers’ bargaining power during Trump’s administration, with further declines in real hourly earnings.
The first is regulatory. On his inauguration, Trump has the opportunity to appoint two new members to the National Labor Relations Board now controlled by Obama appointees with administrative discretion to*implement pro-labor decisions. With their new majority, Republican appointees*will have a smorgasbord of past cases and regulations*to repeal and replace. Trump’s future replacements undoubtedly will promote a business-friendly agenda, and the board’s shift in emphasis will be immediately apparent.