Why the Poor Stay Poor in America - "Unity Is Strength"

Crime and Punishment: Why the Poor Stay Poor in America explores how our laws and culture create a cycle of economic, racial and environmental inequality...and what together, we can do to change it.

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Bread and Roses Strike, 1912 . Photo Credit: New England Historical Society

“A movement to weaken American child labor protections at the state level began in 2022. By June 2023, Arkansas, Iowa, New Jersey and New Hampshire had enacted this kind of legislation, and lawmakers in at least another eight states had introduced similar measures. The laws generally make it easier for kids from 14 to 17 years old to work longer and later – and in occupations that were previously off-limits for minors.” U.S. News & World Report, June 26, 2023

The employer-employee relationship is exploitive to some degree and at any age, but with 14 year old children, perhaps working in industries or assigned job duties that are physically dangerous, it’s practically a given. Exploiting the energy, naiveté and eagerness of kids who can’t legally drive, vote or sign a contract is what recent, state legislation is really about.

Proponents of loosening child labor laws claim it returns rights to parents—why should the government prevent children from contributing to the family coffers? The governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, who recently signed a bill lowering the working age to 14 and increasing the number of hours and times children can work said it would “…allow young adults to develop their skills in the workforce”. In reality, it is a pro-business choice that allows companies to pay these workers considerably less and thus make a greater profit, literally on the backs of children — just like in the 1800’s.

I’ve written previously about the power of unions, why our country needs their considerable influence, and why that need is even more evident today. One of the co-founders of a Substack newsletter called More Perfect Union pointed out in a Labor Day post yesterday, that right now we are in a “union paradox” — a recent Gallup poll shows that unions are popular among the American people (67% favor unions), but union membership has been precipitously declining for decades. The following two graphs highlight this paradox:

According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report from January 24, 2023, union membership declined to 10.1% in 2022, the lowest rate on record. The Bureau also notes that “In 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent.”

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Additional Gallop polls, as discussed in a blog post by AFSME, also show that well over the majority of Americans support striking workers rather than companies, believe unions should have more power than they have now and are a positive force for workers, businesses and the overall economy. Yet the reduction in union membership by nearly one-half in forty years, considered alongside the stratospheric rise in income and wealth inequality, opioid and other substance abuse addiction, the rise in suicides and binge-drinking among middle-aged adults shows that a deeper issue might need to be addressed.

I could offer more statistics, graphs and charts depicting the efficacy (or not) of unions, but statistics have difficulty showing the promise and hope our country needs right now.

What unions have always offered since the first union was formed in Philadelphia in 1794, and continue to offer, is the promise of a better life, to revive the hollowed-out middle class and bring dignity to the working lives of millions more Americans. And a promise that has been delivered time and again over nearly 200 years¹ is a building block of hope. Earning a good wage along with a safe work environment, a robust benefits package that includes affordable, quality health care, paid time off and subsidized child care is what union representation should, and often does deliver for its members. And this promise of hope for a better life is why every sector of our economy still needs the power of unions.

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I’d love to hear what you think about the current state of unions and their power to affect change in the United States. Please share your thoughts in the Comment Section below.

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