Sara Horowitz

While Steelworkers Scramble to Adapt, a New Unionism Grows

Last week, we learned that the United Steelworkers are going to merge with two unions in the UK. No one's ever tried this sort of trans-Atlantic partnership, and the unions themselves aren't sure how it will work -- whether they'll strike together, or support each other in negotiations, or just stand in political alignment with one another. What's clear is that old-style unions are struggling to find a way to adapt to new realities.

What they haven't acknowledged is that we're entering a third age of unionism in America. People don't spend their whole lives working for one company anymore, retiring with a full pension and health benefits. (Just look at the problems the auto industry's having with retirees to see how they old system can cripple a company.) Instead, you'll probably work for many companies or clients throughout your career--especially if you're among the growing ranks of freelancers.

Unions in America began in the model of medieval craft guilds. From bricklayers to blacksmiths, people got together with others in the same profession. Following the industrial revolution, with the shift to unskilled labor, workers formed unions in factories, organizing themselves by industry (like the auto workers do to this day). This was the second wave of unionism. The National Labor Relations Act of the 1930s, which made unionization a right and strengthened workers' ties to an employer, coincided with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. By an accident of history, social protections -- retirement, healthcare, unemployment insurance -- were attached to employers as a means of delivery.

Clearly, that paradigm is crumbling. As the ties between workers and employers weaken, America needs to reweave its social safety net. For freelancers and independent contractors, especially, a New Unionism is emerging. Instead of collective bargaining for wages, they negotiate group rates for health insurance. (This is what we do at Freelancers Union.) They don't want a lifetime contract with one company -- they want to gain security apart from their jobs, giving them mobility and the freedom to choose their work.

New Unionism can have a strong advocacy agenda, just like traditional unions do. But we're advocating for different things: taxes that don't penalize the self-employed, or access to unemployment insurance. Workers are rediscovering the centuries-old truth that they do better when they come together. But in a new century and new economy, it's time for a New Unionism.

Posted at 6:30 AM, Apr 25, 2007 in Labor | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)