What Union Label?

That unions have declined in membership and in power the past twenty years is obvious. The driving force behind such improvements as child labor laws and work safety rules is now a mere shell. Much of the reason for the decline is the unions' own fault: the corruption and over-reaching turned off millions of working Americans. However, the heavy handed corporations and their minions in Washington, DC have played a pivotal role as well, usually to the great detriment of American workers across the board. The latest decision of the NLRB is a clear example of that. From the Washington Post:

MEMBERSHIP IN labor unions is falling across the industrialized world, and some of this fall may be inevitable. With a few exceptions, such as the hotel industry, it's become hard for unions to negotiate substantial pay raises without endangering the viability of companies: The companies have to compete against rivals that aren't unionized, frequently because they're overseas. Some of the decline, though, is not inevitable but rather is due to one-sided political and legal decisions, such as Tuesday's disturbing ruling from the National Labor Relations Board.

In a split decision, the three board members appointed by President Bush outvoted the two originally appointed by President Bill Clinton in ruling that relatively junior workers can be defined as "supervisors," thus restricting their right to join a union. The case involved "charge nurses" who assign colleagues to care for particular patients but who lack the power to promote, discipline or influence the pay of the other nurses.

This ruling is especially significant to those of us in California. The California Nurses' Assocation ("CNA") has been an especially potent force in California politics, so potent that when Governor Schwartzenegger demonized the group during the last special election as part of his campaign to take public policy to the public, he learned a hard lesson: you don't diss nurses, cops, and fire fighters for political gain. All of the propositions he favored (several of which he himself maneuvered onto the ballot) went down to resounding defeat.

What had the CNA done to deserve this reckless treatment from a governor? It successfully sued to stop him from repealing hard fought for work rules limiting the nurse-patient ratio in hospitals. The nurses of the state had shown clearly that the health of hospital patients was directly related to the staffing ratios, and hospitals were screaming at the added expense. California voters decided in favor of the nurses' position.

Here's the point: unions do more than get decent pay for their members, they even do more than ensure work-place safety. They also, either directly or indirectly, aid in public safety by making sure that companies are forced to confront their obligations to consumers.

Hopefully the three commissioners appointed by President Bush are forced to learn the lesson the Governator learned: you can't diss nurses, or any other American worker, just to improve the bottom line.