Can labor take advantage of the economic slump? As the AFL-CIO kicks off its annual executive council meeting in sunny Bal Harbour, Fla., this week, the prospects are uncertain at best. The Teamsters received a lot of favorable press recently by electing reformist Ron Carey as their new president. But labor still continues to lose important court and public-relations battles. The Supreme Court recent restricted the right of unions to recruit on private property such as shopping malls; labor also seems unlikely to derail a much-feared free-trade agreement with Mexico. As Carey puts it, labor “needs a transfusion.” In Bal Harbour, union leaders will wrestle with strategies for reversing the movement’s slide. Among the prescriptions:
Open elections helped gussy up the Teamsters’ profile, and now they and other unions are eying more ways to cultivate a new, aboveboard image. For example: the Teamsters’ limousine, luxury jets and condo in Puerto Rico are already on the block. Carey has repealed presidential perks like unlimited paid vacations anywhere in the world. It’s unlikely that the Teamsters’ reform will set off a wave of democratization soon; only a few unions hold direct elections, and no others are considering them. But a cleaner image for the country’s largest private-sector union can only help. “It is good PR for the movement,” says Charles Perry, a Wharton management professor.
When a strike by New England telephone technicians against Canada-based Northern Telecom dragged on for months, the Communication and Electrical Workers of Canada sat down at the bargaining table on the side of the Americans. They demanded that Northern Telecom sign a contract with the Americans; days later the strike was over. “The world became international and we didn’t keep pace,” says United Mine Workers president Richard Trumka. One roadblock: many union members still think of foreigners as a threat rather than as allies.
One bright spot has been the public sector. Why? Unions delivered good contracts as some local governments expanded in the ’80s. In the last five years, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees grew by 30 percent. But as cities and states struggle, unions plan to target the service sector, which includes everything from banks to Burger Kings. Says an an AFL-CIO spokesman: “Labor made all those grimy manufacturing jobs into ‘good jobs.’ There’s no reason we can’t do that for service jobs.”
At his inauguration, Carey promised that the Teamsters were going to vote for labor’s friends, whether Republicans or Democrats. In 1984, when labor endorsed Walter Mondale, some 40 percent of the nation’s union members cast their lot with Ronald Reagan. But because recession-weary workers are fearful, union leaders reckon their flock will follow their cues this time. Some even speculate that labor could make the difference in a close election, especially in the industrial states. But don’t expect unity right away, especially early in the Democratic primary season. Younger service unions support the moderate Clinton; older industrial unions back Harkin, a liberal firebrand.
The most drastic prescription for survival is to completely change the way unions think of labor relations. “There is going to have to be a move [for unions] to help companies become more competitive and enlarge the pie,” says Columbia Business School professor Casey Ichniowski. A few unions have cooperated with management to save at least some jobs as industries modernize. In exchange for easing costly work rules, such as overtime, the steelworkers union got companies to train members for new jobs. For example: at National Steel, the union still clings to its no-layoff clause but allows the company to eliminate unneeded positions as long as they find workers new jobs. To staunch their losses, other unions are trying everything from low-interest credit cards to “associate memberships” that allow nonunion workers to join just for the benefits. For migrant workers, the AFI, CIO offers free check cashing and classes in English as a second language.
Perhaps such steps are already having an effect. For the first time in three decades, labor’s share of the work force held steady in 1991 at 16 percent. That’s still far from labor’s glory days, but it may be a sign that there’s hope for unions yet.
