Op-Ed/San Bernardino Sun
Nell Soto/Point of View

September 05, 2005

Many Americans are observing a well-deserved three-day weekend that culminates today with Labor Day.

But I wonder how many will take time to consider the significance of the holiday that is the reason behind that extended weekend.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the holiday was established long ago by union leaders seeking a special day "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country."

Most of the working men and women who take time to formally recognize Labor Day for what it is are members of labor unions - but I believe it is in the best interest of workers who are not members of unions to acknowledge the significance of the holiday as well.

Many things that workers now take for granted - an eight-hour work day, overtime pay for overtime worked, health insurance for individuals and families, retirement security - did not spring up in a vacuum. They exist in part or in whole thanks to the blood, sweat and tears of union activists.

Despite the well-publicized decline of the clout of labor organizations, union-represented workers still tend to earn better pay, receive better benefits, and have stronger pensions than their non-union counterparts.

It's no secret that as membership in unions has peaked and waned, so too have the financial stability and retirement security of all workers.

Employers know this, which is a key reason why many of them have worked long and hard to enact and preserve laws making it all but impossible for more workers to form and join unions.

They want ultimate control over workers' lives - and they fear a level playing field which gives their employees a say in decisions affecting their jobs. Employers violate workers' rights every day, without fear of recrimination.

We've long tasted the bitter fruits of their efforts in the form of wage stagnation, weaker health care coverage, and the raiding or destruction of employee pension funds. About 45 million Americans, most of them from working families, now lack health insurance.

Workers understand this, too: Polls, including a recent survey by the Gallup Organization, show that majorities of Americans continue to approve of labor unions. And, according to Gallup, a plurality "would like to see unions have more influence than they have today."

The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), an alliance of most of the nation's largest unions, estimates that as many as 57 million workers who are not currently members of unions would join one if they could - if the laws did not prevent them from doing so.

The advent of mammoth companies like Wal-Mart has had a profound impact on the lives of workers, and not just those they employ.

By sheer size alone, Wal-Mart has helped drive down the wages and benefits of retail workers, particularly those in the grocery industry, as supermarket chains have aggressively slashed costs in order to compete with a company that is the world's largest employer.

Wal-Mart's lower standard of pay has forced their employees in some states to apply for public assistance just to make ends meet. Perhaps most disturbing of all, the company has boosted its already significant profit margin by refusing to offer medical insurance - pushing many of its workers off onto tax-payer funded health programs.

One way or another, we all pay for such "benevolence."

I am a firm believer in the old union adage that "there is strength in numbers." And I hope the rift that has led several of the nation's largest unions to bolt from the AFL-CIO won't be to the detriment of working families.

Because even today, most workers still stand a better chance of achieving better pay and benefits, along with improved conditions on the job, by bonding together in unions than they do in trying to go it alone against employers with the scales tipped heavily in their favor.

I plan to recognize this Labor Day by rededicating myself to making sure that all workers receive fair and equitable treatment on the job, and that includes working to change the laws that are often stacked so heavily against them.

Senator Nell Soto (D - Ontario) chairs the Senate Committee on Public Employment & Retirement.