By ROY PULLAM
I am grateful for the impact unions have had on American life.
America was changed because of unions. We have the forty-hour week, overtime, pensions, safety laws, vacations and workers' compensation due to their efforts. It was mainly through their efforts that we got such a large middle class.
I know union membership is one-third of what it was in the 50's (roughly 11 million down from the 33 million high).
I understand that there has been a conscious effort to blame unions for jobs leaving this shore for developing countries. This is a fallacy. If one looked closely, they would understand the guilt and greed of big business.
It is not true that foreign workers produce faster and better. Time and time again, labor in the U.S. builds more and better-quality products per hour.
Employers leave this country for cheaper labor, lower health and safety standards and lack of rights for workers. They do not have to conform to environmental standards that are requirements in this country.
Foreign workers are often sexually and physically exploited. Unions would never allow any of that in America.
But many companies have returned in order to get that quality work American labor can provide.
Years ago, I worked in a union. I was proud to eat union bread. At the end of the summer, I bought a withdrawal card. I am retired and will never work again in a union shop, but I will always be proud to have belonged to an AFL-CIO union.
Union workers are proud Americans who continue to work for labor justice. It is no myth that what is good for labor is good for America.