Obama delivering a strong argument for unions. Photo: Sarah Jones
Obama delivering a strong argument for unions. Photo: Sarah Jones
During a speech in Pittsburgh, President Obama made strong case for the need to strengthen unions in the United States.
President Obama was in Pittsburgh Tuesday to meet with workers at TechShop, a company that helps American investors make affordable prototypes. Obama came to Pittsburgh as one of three stops to push his Made in America agenda, to help “spur innovation, entrepreneurship and manufacturing.”
TechShop is a community-based workshop and prototyping studio on a mission to democratize access to the tools of innovation.
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The president noted during his prepared remarks before taking questions from the audience that the US has its “best manufacturing rates in the last twenty years.” Later he added, “We have companies saying America is the number one place to do business – something we haven’t seen in a long time. We have seen entrepreneurship expanding at a higher rate than we’ve seen in a long time.”
The president repeated his goal of making sure that people who work hard get a shot at economic success, “We have companies saying America is the number one place to do business – something we haven’t seen in a long time. We have seen entrepreneurship expanding at a higher rate than we’ve seen in a long time.”
During the Q&A portion, President Obama was asked how using union labor can help an upstart business and entrepreneur be successful.
The president answered:
Pittsburgh historically has been a union town. America was built by workers who over time through a lot of struggle got the right to bargain collectively. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that our middle class was built in part because unions were able to negotiate weekends, and overtime, and benefits. Things that now non-workers take for granted. Well, you got those because unions were out there fighting for you for a very long time.
Now, it’s no secret that unions have been back on their heels a little bit over the last several decades. Part of that has to do with the globalization of the economy. Companies say to themselves well, we can move anywhere now that supply chains are dictated more technology. Cost of transportation dropped, and that has given unions less leverage, and so only a small percentage of private sector jobs now are unionized.
I would continue to argue that we should do everything we can to strengthen unions in this country.Unions have to be flexible. Unions have to recognize they’re competing with non union companies as well, but the good news is union workers know how to do the job. So what you may lose incrementally because you’re paying slightly higher wagers or higher benefits, you’re gaining in skills, reliability, productivity, and if you can create a culture where employers and workers feel both invested companies will succeed over time and can thrive.
The President also called Congress out for refusing to work with him on his policy to boost the economy via infrastructure, saying it makes no sense.
The key to building a strong middle class is good jobs, so it is no surprise that the middle class began to vanish when the conservative assault on union jobs accelerated. Most politicians are afraid to discuss unions and the economic benefits that a strong union movement bring to the economy, but this president spoke up on behalf of collective bargaining and unionization.
President Obama was correct. If this nation is ever going to have a strong a stable middle class again, it needs the kind of good paying jobs that come from making things in America with unionized labor. The president hasn’t forgotten that a strong labor movement is key to a healthy middle class driven economy.
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