A unionist’s perspective on the future of American unions

In summary, I do not see a major change in American unions over the next decade. The exception is further consolidation of national unions through mergers and affiliations which will change the makeup and increase the effectiveness of the unions involved. It behooves us all who love freedom and democracy to do what we can to assure strong and viable unions in America. We in the labor movement do not believe that we can have a free society and a high standard of living without free and effective unions. In this regard, I conclude with a statement made in 1945 by my first boss, Philip Murray, president of the United Steelworkers of America and the Congress of Industrial Organizations: “American democracy cannot survive in an atmosphere of insecurity, joblessness, and poverty. When people are at work at high wages, prosperity is continuous. To return to an era of low wages is to invite unemployment and catastrophe from which no segment of the population, no matter how apparently secure, will escape. We dare not allow mass misery and unemployment to overtake us again.”