On the recordMarch 3, 2015
it is interesting, when we get on the topic of unions, how we all come to this with such a different point of view. I come to it as a person who grew up in a household where every member of my family was a member of a union. My father and mother, who each had eighth grade educations, belonged to railroad unions in East St. Louis, IL. Because of that, there was bargaining for their wages and benefits--which I didn't understand as a kid, but I do now--that resulted in the quality of life we enjoy in our family. We weren't wealthy, but we were comfortable. I never went hungry, and I thought we lived a pretty good life. Mom and dad were hard workers. If you were a hard worker in those days and had the benefit of union representation, you could make a decent living. And we did. If we study history, we will find that is what has gone on in America. Primarily after World War II, we saw two things happening: a rise in unionism--people who belonged to organized unions--and a rise in the middle class. In other words, employees who were able to bargain for their wages and benefits and retirement ended up with enough money to raise their families and to build the middle class in America. In that period from post-World War II until the 1960s, the United States really took its place on the map in terms of our position in the economy. Exactly the opposite has been true since.…
