Are you Labor or Management?

The Labor Day holiday got me to thinking...  Labor Day was born in the 1890's to acknowledge the contribution of labor (workers) to the industrial revolution which transformed the American economy in the 1800's.  By the end of the 19th century, wealth distribution could be described as between the 'robber barrons' and the hordes who labored in their factories.

In 1880 the workday in those factories was 10 hours a day, six days a week. There was no safety net for workers.  If you got hurt in those factories, and they were ALL incredibly dangerous and hazardous, then you were just fired.  Your pay was whatever the factory owner decided, and, for instance, if all the steel mill owners got together to decide what they would pay in their factories as well as blackball any 'agitators' or 'troublemakers' trying to organize their laborers, well that was just good business.

If the working conditions weren't bad enough, up to 40% of the industrial workers made less than a minimum wage necessary to feed and clothe their families.  These desperate conditions gave rise to the labor movement which was about safety first, second a reduction of working hours to the eight hour day, and finally, to be able to bargain as a group to set their wages.  This was a fight to gain acknowledgement of the workers' contribution to the industrial production as well as gain a portion of the incredible wealth the production generated.  And, trust me, it was a fight.  There were laws outlawing unions, striking for better working conditions, as well as gaining that slice of the wealth.  Police as well as the rest of the judicial system was in the pockets of the owners.

Old news, right?  What does all this history have to do with you today?  Well, look around.  We are in the midst of another revolution.  Our entire society and economy is being remade by the Electronic Revolution just as surely as life in the USA was remade by the Industrial Revolution.  Today, we have the increasing gulf between the few and the many.  What is the 99% movement if not a nascent labor movement?

The means of production these days in America is shifting away from the strong back, and the manufacturing base of the traditional labor union.  Instead, as the Electronic Revolution continues to roar forward, isn't it increasingly obvious the means of production are brains not backs?

The wealthy have learned a few things since 1880.  Their factories are clean, upbeat environments with breakfast bars, free food for lunch, well lighted, air conditioned and heated with company gyms, and lots and lots of other perks for their workers.

However, all those trivial trappings aside, if you work in one of these places, believe me when I tell you that you are labor.  You can be fired without cause at the whim of the Board of Directors whenever there's a company downturn, however slight or temporary.  Your job can be at risk every three months.

You are being trained to work seven days a week, twelve or fifteen hours a day. Your company is keeping you working those hours through that marvel of the electronic age:  the smart phone.  Balk at those hours?  No problem.  You'll just be 'laid off', that new euphenism for being fired.  Object to your pay?  Beware, your name just moved to the top of the list to be 'laid off' in the next round of cut-backs.

 Get to be 50+ and have worked hard and faithfully to get to the top of the wage list?  Congratulations.  Your name also just moved to to the top of the cut back list.  Why pay you for your expertise and knowledge, when a new hire thirty years younger can be had for half of your wage.  Are you working the equivalent of two jobs because your company has laid off so many people?

Wages throughout the economy are stagnant; there are few pay wage increases because company's don't recognize the contributions of labor to their profitability.  However, the gap between what the upper echolons of companies are being paid (or paying themelves) is huge compared to their employees' wages and steadily growing.  And the stock markets, the measure of American business profitability just keeps going up.  Yes, sir, the wealthy robber barrons have learned a few things since 1880.

I think it's time for a new labor movement.  Just because you don't get dirty, or sit at a keyboard, or walk around with a hand held computer when you work doesn't make you management.  It's time to take some lessons from those organizers of the late 19th and early 20th century.  There, of course, would be crucial differences this time in how to obtain a slice of the economic wealth of this country, but collective bargaining would certainly be a step forward in wealth redistribution just as it was 100 years ago.