One of the important human rights set
forth in the Universal Declaration is the freedom of working people
to form labor unions for the protection of their interests.
Unfortunately, this right is not protected in the United States and,
as a result, working families are rapidly losing ground in American
society.
Workers in America face a crisis. Changes in the national and
international economy have led to a loss of high-wage jobs and an
increase in income inequality in American society. Only 13 percent
of all American workers are union members, down from a peak of 35
percent in 1954. Within the private sector, the rate is much lower.
We all know that unions directly benefit their member workers,
who gain higher wages, health care and a say in their working
conditions. However, we should remember that unions indirectly
benefit the wider community as well through an expanding tax base,
stable employment, lower demands on social welfare services and
better quality of life for all.
Why, then, have unions declined as a percentage of the work
force? The main reason is that American law does not effectively
protect the human rights of workers to form unions and bargain
collectively.
One study by Freeman and Rogers found that, given a completely
free market for union representation, 44 percent of American workers
would choose to form a union. However, according to a recent Human
Rights Watch study, when workers try to form or join a union in the
United States today they nearly always suffer pervasive, serious
violations of their fundamental human rights -- in the form of a
broad array of well-honed and devastatingly effective employer
tactics designed to suppress the freedom to form a union.
A partial list of these unethical union avoidance tactics
includes: mandatory captive audience meetings where workers are
forced to sit through one-sided anti-union presentations; repeated
closed-door, one-on-one meetings with supervisors during which
workers are interrogated about their views of unions, and pro-union
workers are advised to change their minds; employer assistance to
anti-union workplace committees; widespread threats that the
workplace will close or move should the workers vote to form a
union; and firing workers who seek to form or join a union in their
workplace. The list goes on and on.
As a result of the common use of such practices, union elections
in the United States do not even meet minimum international
standards for democratic elections. They are not democratic because
they do not protect workers' freedom from violence, intimidation or
coercion; freedom of speech and expression and freedom of assembly
to hold political rallies and campaign; freedom of access to voters;
freedom of access to polls by voters, party agents and accredited
observers; and freedom to question, challenge and register
complaints or objections without negative repercussions.
The widespread, open intimidation of workers trying to form a
union in America is a national disgrace. The freedom to form or join
a union is widely recognized internationally as a fundamental human
right, on a par with other basic freedoms such as freedom of
religion, or the right to be free from discrimination based on race,
gender or sexual orientation. The absence of protections for most
workers in the United States violates both international human
rights norms and basic American values of fair play.
As Americans, we all should support reforms in our labor laws
that are designed to make it easier for workers to join labor unions
and to win collective bargaining rights. One current example is the
Employee Free Choice Act introduced to Congress by Sen. Kennedy and
Rep. Miller. Only strong progressive legislation will guarantee that
all workers will be able to exercise their basic human rights, free
from oppression and discrimination.
Cingranelli is a professor of political science at Binghamton
University.
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