Unions needed more than ever

This Labor Day seems like a good time for a reminder that the minimum wage is still $7.25 an hour for those living in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. The last time they saw a raise was 2009.

The costs of goods and services have increased by about 150% since the last time the federal minimum wage was raised, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most states have taken it upon themselves to set a livable wage for full-time workers. But for those in states that have not acted on their own, prices keep going up while wages stagnate.

And that doesn’t account for the price increases to come as the result of our new trade war with friends and foes alike. 

Prices increased by 2.6% in June, according to the US Commerce Department, reflecting just the start of what is to come. When fully implemented, the tariffs will result in an 18.6% tax on all imported goods, the highest rate since 1933, according to the Yale Budget Lab. That will mean an additional $2,400 a year from the family budget.

This Labor Day, fewer than 10% of all workers are represented by a union, and the vast majority of those work for the government. Thirty-two percent of all public-sector employees are union members, compared to less than 6% of private-sector workers.

And it makes a difference. The median wage for nonunion workers is only 85% of what is made by those who are in a union.

We watched last year as strikers in the auto industry, delivery drivers, hotel workers and even Hollywood writers all used the power of collective bargaining to force their employers to make concessions. But the vast majority of American workers don’t have that power.

And, as a result, the wealth gap keeps growing wider. The combined wealth of the more than 700 billionaires now living in the U.S. increased by $2.07 trillion, or 70.3%, between March 2020 and October, 2021, according to data collected by Forbes. Just the top 12 billionaires now have a combined wealth of more than $2 trillion, a 193% increase from 2020 to 2024.

Those at the bottom are struggling to keep up with price increases for basics like food and housing. Default rates on credit cards and auto loans are at an all-time high.

Without union representation, workers have only the government to protect them. And that has often proven to be a leaky shelter. The failure to increase the minimum wage is just one example of government working against the interests of its workers,

A 2023 report by the Economic Policy Institute found that states across the country are weakening child labor laws at the same time that violations are on the rise. The number of children working in violation of state law increased by 37% in the past year. Instead of cracking down on the violators, many states are weakening the laws.

Republicans in the U.S. Congress are making a big deal of the tax cut for tipped workers, overtime and Social Security recipients in this year’s bill. What they don’t tell you is that those cuts expire in two years, while the many tax cuts given to billionaires are enshrined forever.

And, we haven’t even talked about Artificial Intelligence yet. The American worker is facing new threats this Labor Day that didn’t exist 10 years ago and were beyond the imagination when the holiday was first conceived.

While we honor the labor unions, we also know they will not be there for the vast majority of workers, who need a more responsive government.

Walt Rubel is a former managing editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com.

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