What is the future of Organized Labor in the United States?
I took a course in Labor Economics and Labor Relations in B-School back in the 1970s. Despite taking the predictable attitude back then toward labor unions, I learned a lot about their history. There is no question in my mind that without them, American business would be in an “uglier” place today. I won’t dwell on the past; but, without labor unions, there is no telling the kind of exploitation management may have gotten away with. I just lost a 90-something relative. She was in the ILGWU. I think most of you are familiar with the horrible conditions seamstresses had to work in in NYC sweatshops in the 19th Century and in the first half of the 20th Century. But, American labor is gradually becoming uncompetitive. Corporations are shifting jobs to locations where labor costs are significantly lower for roughly comparable skills. Of course, if I were an employee whose job had just been outsourced, I would not necessarily agree with the last remark. But, the fact is that corporations man
