Unions and Me

I’m pro-union. But in an abstract kind of way. As a matter of public policy, I think unions have done a lot of good historically and, for the most part, they continue to improve the lives of working people, even for those who are not union members.

And how’s that for a chilly statement of support on Labor Day? The thing is that, while I support unions I’m not a union man. If you asked me which side I’m on, I’d say I’m with the union, but can I raise a caveat here and there? (The answer would be “no.”)

One thing I’ve learned both while in politics and from my friends who grew up in union households is that there’s something hereditary in all this. People who grew up in union households feel the movement deeply in their souls. It’s part of their very identity.

I had a grand uncle who was a pressman for the Milwaukee Journal and so he must have been a union member, but I don’t remember him talking about that. My brothers worked their way though college at UPS and I know they were required to join a union, but they didn’t seem to care about that much one way or the other. And that’s pretty much it when it comes to my family and unions.

Probably for this reason I had a hard time relating to unions when I was Mayor of Madison. I generally had their support but it was never a warm relationship. AFSCME had a long-time local leader in Madison named Dode Lowe. Dode was a crusty guy. If you met him on the street you’d say, ‘yeah, he’s a union guy.’

Dode and I got along okay, but not great. Some time during my second term he asked to have a breakfast meeting where we could clear the air. Over eggs and bacon, I pointed out that the city’s contracts were almost exactly the same as Dane County’s, so I wondered why AFSCME loved County Executive Kathleen Falk while the union was cool at best with me. Dode seemed to struggle to come up with an answer, but to the extent he offered anything it was cultural. “We can go to Kathleen and yell at one another,” he said. I guess he didn’t feel comfortable yelling at me and I can attest that I wouldn’t have screamed at him either. I guess that meant we just couldn’t relate to one another.

That’s all pretext, and probably too much information, for me to make what has become my traditional Labor Day point: it’s a mistake to equate unions with labor. Only one in ten American workers belongs to a union and most of those union members are teachers and other public employees. And yet, every Labor Day every Democrat shows up at a union picnic or marches in a union-led parade as if that’s good enough to check the workers box.

Showing up at union events is fine in itself, but I think it’s important for politicians to find some way to acknowledge the 90% of American workers not represented by a union. This is one blind spot that contributes to the Democrats’ long-term eroding support among blue collar workers. The party can come off as if it doesn’t even see workers who don’t belong to unions.

Unions are not likely to ever be as powerful as they were during the last century. Other ways have to be found to build the middle class. Unions will be part of that strategy, but they’re not likely to be the most important piece.

So, which side am I on? I’m with the union… and also with the 90% of workers who don’t belong to one.