I've been fortunate enough to join some of the YP4 staff here at the Netroots Nation Conference in Austin, Texas. One of the goals I shared with other YP4 attendees was connecting with other leaders in the progressive movement who have used the blogsphere as a means of pushing our respective social concerns, particularly racial/gender/economic justice. While my main passion lies in healthcare reform and inequalities in health, based on my personal experience and academic/civil work, I recognize the need to learn about other areas, including the environment, workers' rights, access to affordable higher education, and how they affect our nation's health.
One of the sessions I attended this morning, "Growing the American Dream Movement," discussed how to address economic justice via the strengthening of unions. During the session, the panelists shared how the growth of economic injustice, and conversely, the failure of workers' wages and benefits to keep up with the rising cost of living, has been accompanied by the weakening of unions. One panelist cited the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which notes the benefits of union membership. A few significant statistics:
* Union members have 28% higher wages than non-union service workers,
* Union members are 62% more likely to have health care coverage
* Union members are 4 times more likely to have a pension plan compared to their non-union counterparts
From observations of how union membership has benefited some of my own relatives, I appreciate how unions have applied tactics including strength in numbers and organizing, to address concerns in the workplace. Nevertheless, I still have questions about unions. Moreover, I recognize the need for introspection and the current shortcomings of unions. For example, do those in the supervisory/"leadership" positions necessarily represent, or even reflect, the identities, including race, class, gender, and language, of those whom they are meant to represent? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that union members with limited English proficiency have their voice heard (and not necessarily limited to having Spanish translators, but also assistance in other languages)?