Opposing view: Union jobs build the middle class

Richard Trumka | USA TODAY

It's a tough time to work for a living.

Middle-class families have been losing ground for more than a decade. Today, working people have a smaller piece of the pie than at any time in the past 50 years. During that period, the number of people belonging to unions also declined steadily; in fact, if you look at the decline of the middle class beside the state of union membership, those numbers are parallel. This should concern everyone who cares about a strong America.

Our country is at its best when growth is shared by more families, not fewer.

Yet some people would have us believe that the answer to the weak economy is to continue to downgrade jobs, and to make college, retirement security and home ownership less affordable. Pundits point to home health care workers, firefighters and other public-sector workers whose median pension is just over $24,000 a year and say that they have too much, and that we should take it away.

Instead of asking how working people can do better, the critics say middle-class workers with good union jobs don't deserve their hard-earned benefits. Attacks on unions, including the "right-to-work" laws, grease this downward slide. Slashing pay and silencing workers are the worst ways for businesses to profit. The right way is to recognize that when workers have a voice, everyone succeeds.

Now, critics are right on one point: The world is changing, and the labor movement hasn't done enough to adapt. That's why we're working closely with young people and community allies to ensure every worker has a voice on the job.

We're working with day laborers and advanced manufacturing workers to ensure they know their rights and can join with co-workers to improve their lives. Autoworkers, electricians and nurses are working with employers to build better business practices and help them thrive. We're working to build a movement that speaks for today's working Americans.

Prosperity for all requires an agile and strong labor movement at its core. As they have for decades, America's unions believe in building a strong middle class, and we'll work with anyone to do it.

Richard Trumka is president of the AFL-CIO.