Yeah Unions!

Did you hear GM has a tentative settled with the UAW!

Strikes settle on 2023…

Teamsters Union and UPS: July 25, 2023
UAW and Ford: September 14, 2023

Writers Guild of America (WGA): September 27, 2023
UAW and Stellantis: October 28, 2023
UAW and GM struck a tentative deal on Monday: October 30, 2023

Still ongoing…

SAG-AFTRA, is still in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

All my life I was exempt employee… in other words management. But when there were votes on joining the for my employees I supported them as much as I could.

When I look back in the post-WWII years what stands out is that all my neighbors had a house, or many of them had boats or a vacation home… they had disposable income and money in the bank.

I asked Google’s Bard: "Compare disposable income between the 1960s and 2010s?"

It's answer in part was,

However, it is important to note that the distribution of disposable income has also changed significantly over this time period. In the 1960s, the top 1% of earners received about 10% of all disposable income, while the bottom 20% of earners received about 4% of all disposable income. By 2020, the top 1% of earners received about 20% of all disposable income, while the bottom 20% of earners received about 3% of all disposable income.

What brought about this change… I believe it was President Reagan and the Republican party.

Once again I asked Bard: "How has the average wage increase between the employees and the CEOs change from 1980 until now?"

Its answer in part was,

The average wage increase for employees has lagged far behind the average wage increase for CEOs since 1980. According to the Economic Policy Institute, CEO compensation has increased by 1,460% since 1978, while the typical worker's compensation has increased by just 18.1% during the same period. This means that CEOs are now paid about 399 times more than the typical worker, up from just 21 times more in 1965.

[…]

Another factor that has contributed to the rising CEO-to-worker pay ratio is the decline of unions. Unions have traditionally played a key role in negotiating for higher wages and better benefits for workers. However, union membership rates have declined sharply in recent decades, which has weakened the bargaining power of workers.

Why has union membership declined? Republican states started passing “Right to Work” laws that decimated the unions.

Again, Bard: “What is the difference between average hourly wages in right to work states and non-right to work states?”

According to the Economic Policy Institute, average hourly wages in right-to-work states are about 3.1% lower than in non-right-to-work states, after controlling for other factors that can influence wages, such as demographics, occupation, and industry. This means that the average worker in a right-to-work state earns about $1,558 less per year than the average worker in a non-right-to-work state.

There are a few possible explanations for this difference in wages. One possibility is that right-to-work laws weaken unions, which can lead to lower wages for workers. Unions help workers negotiate for higher wages and better benefits, and they also help to enforce labor contracts. Without unions, workers have less bargaining power and are more likely to accept lower wages.

Another possibility is that right-to-work laws attract businesses that are looking to pay lower wages. Businesses may be drawn to right-to-work states because they know that they will be able to find workers who are willing to work for lower wages, even if they are not unionized.

Finally, it is also possible that right-to-work laws are associated with other factors that contribute to lower wages, such as lower levels of education and lower costs of living. However, research has shown that the difference in wages between right-to-work and non-right-to-work states persists even after controlling for these factors.

Overall, the evidence suggests that right-to-work laws are associated with lower wages for workers. This is likely due to a combination of factors, including the weakening of unions and the attraction of businesses that are looking to pay lower wages.

Back in the 60s you could see boats and campers in driveways. People went out and bought new color televisions which cost an arm (According to Bard: In today's dollars, a color TV in 1960 would cost around $5,003.01) and a leg back then. People bought new stoves and refrigerators! That is what disposable income the ability to buy items that are not related to housing, food, and clothing.

My mother raised me and my brother while my father worked and he earned enough to buy a vacation home.

Now people are scraping by even with multiple jobs. Maybe these victories will renew interest in the unions.