Because knowing (history) is half the battle

Dr. David Zonderman, professor of labor history at North Carolina State University, sat down with us on March 11, 2009 to talk about past labor law and how it helps shape the argument for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Part 1 of 3 of interview with David Zonderman:

“The Employee Free Choice Act simply restores basic rights that workers had under the Wagner Act of 1935,” explains Dr. Zonderman. “The Wagner Act allowed workers to choose if and how to form a union, whether by secret ballot, majority sign-up or a number of other options.

“What has happened over past 70 years is that through court cases and decisions by the National Labor Relations Board, the process has flipped. The original law allowed workers to discuss amongst themselves if and how to form a union, but over time that changed from a discussion between workers, who actually join the union and pay dues, to an argument between workers and employers. Then the law evolved further, until we arrived at the current union election process, in which the deck is stacked against workers and employers have the right to decide how to conduct an election.”

Part 2 of 3 of interview with David Zonderman:

We asked Dr. Zonderman whether changes in the law have led to tense relationships between workers and their employers. He replied, “Absolutely. It’s unfortunate that often the fight over union election can lead to poisoned relations between management and workers. However, the goal of union organizing is to develop a cooperative relationship with the employer. They want to sit across the table as representatives of the workers and discuss how to make the plant more productive and how to compensate workers. No one wins if the employer goes out of business, not the employer and certainly not the workers who lose their jobs.”

Part 3 of 3 of interview with David Zonderman:

Taking into consideration that the United States is going through a recession, as we were when the Wagner Act was passed in the 1930s, Dr. Zonderman refutes the argument that ‘Unions are bad for the economy.’

“Economists under President Roosevelt realized that unions help the country get out of a deep recession by putting a floor under wages. We need to remember that workers are also consumers. Beating down unions, which drives down wages, is actually the worst thing you can do during a recession. We need to pay people a living wage in order for them to spend a living wage to stimulate the economy.”