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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (39699)	9/25/2000 7:43:09 PM
From: Ish	Respond to of 769667

<<Unions are 8% of the workforce and declining. >> Cat went on strike. $20 per hour and $20 in benefits, the surge over whelmed the strikers. Cat used to be one of the biggest union plants, they aren't now. Ok, there are still 6 guys with scab signs in their yards that ain't getting the $20 plus $20.

To: Bill who wrote (39699)	9/26/2000 12:17:48 AM
From: Mr. Whist	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Re: "Unions are 8% of the workforce and declining." Sorry. Wrong on both counts. Unions represent 13.9% of the workforce and the numbers are actually climbing. The following was pulled off the AFL-CIO Web site: Union membership rose by more than 265,000 in 1999—the largest annual increase in 20 years, according to a federal Bureau of Labor Standards report released Jan. 19. The number of union members in the United States rose from 16.21 million to 16.48 million last year, the report said, and the percentage of U.S. workers who belong to unions remained steady at 13.9 percent, reversing a trend of decline. Much of the membership growth was because of an increase in the number of workers forming unions in recent years, as unions have committed greater energy and resources to helping workers gain a voice at work. In major 1999 victories, 75,000 California home health aide workers formed a union, as did 65,000 Puerto Rican public employees and 5,000 Pillowtex/Cannon textile workers in North Carolina. At least 600,000 workers organized unions in 1999, according to internal AFL-CIO and affiliate union data—an increase of more than 25 percent over 1998. Some unions had their best organizing year in recent history. Nearly 50,000 workers apiece joined the UAW and the IBEW, for example, and more than 150,000 joined SEIU. Union membership increased by 112,493 in the private sector in 1999, nearly double the size of the only other such annual increase in two decades. The percentage of private-sector workers who belong to unions remained steady, ending a 20-year decline. Union membership in the public sector grew by 152,788, with the percentage of public-sector workers who are union members dipping slightly, from 37.5 percent to 37.3 percent. "Today's data indicate that our renewed emphasis on helping working people form unions is having an impact," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said at a Jan. 19 AFL-CIO press conference. "Our challenge for the future is to remain focused and to broaden our efforts. It's crucial for unions to continue to grow if working men and women are going to have a stronger voice in the issues that matter to them most." At the press conference, SEIU Organizing Director Tom Woodruff noted that the "real story is the millions of workers who were denied the right to choose a union because of employer intimidation." "We would not allow an employer to unduly influence an employee's political or religious choice, yet we allow employers to unduly influence his or her choice to join a union." More workers are forming unions because they want a say in issues that affect them at work, such as wages, benefits and working conditions, according to recent polling and reports from organizing campaigns. Although workers' wages have shown a recent uptick, they still lag far behind 1970s levels, fueling the growing gap between the wealthy and working Americans.