him, to echo more than 150 years of proud history and righteous discontent. Like any union, a chorus grows stronger with every new voice. “You can stand and raise your fists if you want to,” he tells them, “or you can just sit there.”
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middle-class dream. He says unions help ensure a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. A longtime member of the cement masons union, Ormsby says he has watched the recession hit local workers hard, accelerating the economic shift toward service industries. In response, labor activism has to move out of the factories and foundries into the hospitals, classrooms and government offices. “That’s where the employment opportunities are,” he says. “The face of labor changed, and it is a reflection of the changing economy. As that changes, we have to adapt to where those jobs are.”
rganized labor has deep roots in the development of American industry. Dan Wilson, president of Spokane’s United Steelworkers Local 338, says the Greatest Generation leveraged labor unions to carve out the middle class in the wake of World War II. Empowered to negotiate wages and benefits, unions helped set the new stanobin McIntyre stands among the updards for the American Dream. and-coming ranks of new labor. A “If you worked hard and made a good nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Valley wage, you might be able to send your kids Hospital and Medical Center, she serves on to college,” he says. “You might be able to the bargaining team with SEIU Healthcare drive a car. You might be able to own your 1199NW, a regional affiliate of the Service own home. You might be able to retire. … Employees International Union. That was the middle class. That was the Growing up in a union household, McAmerican Dream.” Intyre had heard the old songs and tragic State Rep. Timm Ormsby, who serves stories of labor’s historic struggles. As a as president of the Spokane Regional Labor nurse, she came to recognize the union’s Council, says unions brought democracy to important everyday functions, providing an the workplace. From miners to teachers to infrastructure to discuss patient care, monifirefighters, labor unions have long advotor job performance and air grievances. cated for better pay and improved working “It was something that allowed me to conditions for all, historically helping to do my job to the best of my win the minimum wage, the eightability,” she says. “It allows us hour day, overtime pay, worker’s to voice our concerns and recompensation and sick leave. Send comments to ally make sure our patients and “There are a lot of spillover editor@inlander.com. their safety comes first.” benefits for working folks that have Unions hold both employno affiliation with the labor union,” ees and employers accountable, she says. he says. They ensure that workers receive proper But union membership has steadily training and safe working conditions. They dropped since its peak in the 1950s. Once protect employees from retribution or representing approximately 35 percent of abuse. They offer support and guidance. the workforce, unions now represent just “I can’t imagine not having that back11.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Laing,” she says. bor Statistics. In Washington state, which In a renewed effort to recruit young has the fourth-highest rate in the country, workers, Washington unions have recently union membership fell from 19 percent in encouraged new groups like Young Emerg2011 to 18.5 percent last year. ing Labor Leaders (YELL). Amy Cowin “Organizing more people is always a and Duane Cooper, organizers with the goal of the unions,” Wilson says. “But I Spokane YELL chapter, say it will take dethink right now the unions are really just termination and innovation to carry labor’s trying to maintain what they have.” promise to the next generation of workers. Without union protections, Wilson A city garbageman and shop steward fears workers could face a downward spiral with one of the region’s largest unions, of weakened contracts and deflated wages Cooper says baby boomers have left a large that would drive America further from its
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gap in institutional knowledge and employment opportunities. Nationwide, corporate profits have ballooned while worker salaries have stalled. Widespread unemployment has fueled resentment toward unions and undermined worker confidence. “People our age, they just feel like they’re lucky to have a job,” says Cowin, with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1439. “So why would they fight back and ask for more?” In the wake of the recession, workers need more support than ever, they argue, remaining optimistic that organized labor can rebound with the help of technology and increased networking. Organizing young workers will take public education and outreach. They need to pass on the history and lessons of the labor movement’s successes. “Most people like us don’t do things because they’re easy,” Cooper says. “We do them because they’re hard. … I’m in it for the long haul.”
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ne of the most widely beloved labor anthems traces its origins back to Spokane. Penned by legendary organizer and songwriter Joe Hill, “The Preacher and the Slave” immortalizes the 1910 “free speech fight” in which union workers flooded the city’s jails to protest unconstitutional laws against making political speeches in public. Ormsby, with the regional labor council, says Spokane still possesses that independent community spirit. This city works harder than ever, he says. And while they might not sing as much, the words still ring true. “It’s human struggle,” he says. “As new things come up, the metaphors will change, but I think it’s a universal theme of equity and struggle and trying to provide for a family. Those are common themes.” In the quiet of the steelworkers’ hall, Mann strums the opening bars of “Solidarity Forever” as the audience claps in time. Soft and then slowly building, whispers grow into hearty cheers. A few among the ranks rise up from their chairs and stomp their feet. Their knuckles curl into fists as they hoist their arms high and shout along with the words. “Solidarity forever,” they sing. “The union makes us strong.”
H E L P WA N T E D ? LOCAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATES AS OF JULY WASHINGTON: 6.9% IDAHO: 6.6% SPOKANE COUNTY: 8.1% KOOTENAI COUNTY: 6.8% SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics
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SEPTEMBER 5, 2013 INLANDER 23