Remembering the power of a union - -

I read a few lines from John Talton's Sunday column re the decline of organized labor in the workplace:

"Unions once provided a powerful antidote to [worker] abuse. But after decades of union-busting policies and self-destructive behavior, organized labor represented only 6.6 percent of private-sector workers in 2014."

The column - and the grim recent view of Amazon's workplace - sparked memory of a time, years back, when a news director wrote abusive and demeaning notes to a reporter - tearing him down, insulting and mocking him in writing - an apparent attempt to drive him from the newsroom.  It was over the top unbearable.

As the shop steward of the time, I was able to convene a meeting with the news director and upper management to get that unacceptable behavior on the table for a direct discussion.The young man found work a few months later in a less pressured environment, but those abusive notes stopped - the director and station president agreed they were out of line and damaging to the work environment.

It was a small thing in a way - not comparable perhaps to a contract negotiation - but I've always remembered it when I hear the usual negative talking points re organized labor.
Unions, at their best, are about the rights of workers.  At their best, they work with management to create a more productive and humane workplace.  They are only, though, as effective as the belief in them, the faith in them, given by a workforce.

That faith is at its lowest stage now since the beginnings of the labor movement over a century ago.  But if the picture of the Amazon workplace emerging this week is anywhere close to accurate; if it's a plausible window into the workplace of tomorrow, organized labor may soon have its day - again.

Believe it.