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posted by on Monday May 22 2017, @03:39PM   Printer-friendly
from the for-gewg dept.

For the past four decades, the majority of American workers have been shortchanged by economic policymaking that has suppressed the growth of hourly wages and prevented greater improvements in living standards. Achieving a secure, middle-class lifestyle has become increasingly difficult as hourly pay for most workers has either stagnated or declined. For millions of the country's lowest-paid workers, financial security is even more fleeting because of unscrupulous employers stealing a portion of their paychecks.

Wage theft, the practice of employers failing to pay workers the full wages to which they are legally entitled, is a widespread and deep-rooted problem that directly harms millions of U.S. workers each year. Employers refusing to pay promised wages, paying less than legally mandated minimums, failing to pay for all hours worked, or not paying overtime premiums deprives working people of billions of dollars annually. It also leaves hundreds of thousands of affected workers and their families in poverty. Wage theft does not just harm the workers and families who directly suffer exploitation; it also weakens the bargaining power of workers more broadly by putting downward pressure on hourly wages in affected industries and occupations. For many low-income families who suffer wage theft, the resulting loss of income forces them to rely more heavily on public assistance programs, unduly straining safety net programs and hamstringing efforts to reduce poverty.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Monday May 22 2017, @05:07PM (3 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday May 22 2017, @05:07PM (#513595) Journal

    In the US, unions have historically wielded a lot of power. Power attracts the criminally minded. Criminals abuse power. Unions did a lot of good in this country, until they reached some threshold, and had to much power. Unions were instrumental in moving the American steel industry out of the United States, to Belgium and India.

    Like most things, unions in moderation are wonderful. Overdosing is hazardous to your health.

    I love arguing with union haters, just as much as I love arguing with union worshippers. Had there never been any unions in the US, our lives would be much more miserable than they are today. Corporations would openly buy and sell us, between themselves. Corporations would make all kinds of claims on us, and we would be powerless to argue those claims. On the other hand, unions allowed corruption to run rampant, so they have been stripped of a lot of power. You won't hear me singing the praises of unions, nor will you hear me bashing them - or not very much, anyway.

    Unions are a necessary evil, I think.

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by meustrus on Monday May 22 2017, @05:17PM (2 children)

    by meustrus (4961) on Monday May 22 2017, @05:17PM (#513601)

    Citation needed on "Unions were instrumental in moving the American steel industry out of the United States, to Belgium and India." That would be directly opposed to their own self-interest, both of the union as an institution and of the individual workers that make up the union. If they wielded any power they would be using it to keep the jobs at home. Anything else just doesn't make sense.

    --
    If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Monday May 22 2017, @05:27PM (1 child)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday May 22 2017, @05:27PM (#513611) Journal

      1980's the steel companies losing lots of money. They tried to negotiate with the unions. "Take a 2% reduction in benefits for a couple years, and we'll get out of the mess we're in." The union answer was, "No, we'll take our Cost Of Living raises, now, or we'll shut the plants down." The corporations began asking themselves if non-American people can make steel. The obvious answer was "YES!" Some of those non-American people produced very good steel almost immediately, others needed some time to learn, and yet others still haven't learned. But, each of those groups fills a niche.

      Union doctrine claimed that no one in the world could make steel like American steel workers make steel. The doctrine was proved wrong.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:25AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:25AM (#514045)

        All that means is that the few years of non-raises / cuts would have delayed the offshoring of their jobs for a short bit. The corporations wanted to maintain their current infrastructure as long as possible, for profit maximization, but the end game would have been the same. "Get out of the mess we're in"? Nope, that is a major lie, and you should know better!