Summary: Long-Term Importance Of Low Unionization

Module 4 Long-term Importance of Low Unionization
James Craig
Empire State College
Art Finkle
April 5, 2015

The labor movement in the United States of America transformed the landscape of industry across the country. Yet despite the overwhelming success of labor organizations in most areas of the country, the South and Mid-west have never fully embraced the movement. There is no single reason to explain this neglect, but much of the animosity can be attributed to geography, politics and race relations. When labor organizations began to evolve from small trade centered groups to the massive national conglomerations representing workers across entire industries, most of the progress occurred in industrial cities found in Northern…show more content…
These values are almost contrary to the ideals of the labor movement whose focus was the use of force and other tactics to increase wages, benefits and improve working conditions. Southerners, given that they mostly worked in agriculture, were not forced to deal with some of the dangerous working conditions seen in the industrial cities, and were happy when they were able to provide food for their families. This is not to say that agriculture was not dangerous or that it paid well, only that given the perspective of these people, lacking the exposure of industry and having strong family values, they would have a hard time relating to those who advocate for organizing. As it became increasing apparent that agriculture would not sustain the economies of Southern states, there was a growing atmosphere of anti-union sentiment in the region. Many states enacted right-to-work laws making closed “union only” shops illegal, in an attempt to lure businesses away from their Northern strongholds. They also believed that strikes conducted by unions would deter the industrial migration south, and thus stifle economic growth. The trend continues to this day as can be seen with UAW’s attempt to unionize the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Adrian Leslie, a line worker at the plant, stated that “I see no need for union representation, we are…show more content…
Geography, and the lack of major cities in Southern states coupled with large expanses of land with limited transportation networks, is but one variable attributed to the slow progression of labor in the south. So too are politics with the general distrust of Northerners by Southerners who hold much more conservative values. Finally, race relations between blacks and whites highly influenced the movement as whites were reluctant to socialize with blacks, and feared blacks would eventually earn supervisory jobs held exclusively by whites. As these stereotypes begin to wane, I feel the labor movement will soon begin to get traction in the South, and longtime holdouts of unions will eventually succumb.

References

Dubofsky, M., & Dulles, F. (2010). Labor in America: A history (8th ed.). Wheeling, Ill.: Harlan Davidson.
UAW Not Welcome In The South - The Truth About Cars. (2011, October 26). Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/10/uaw-not-welcome-in-the-south/
List of U.S. states by historical population. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_historical_population
Weak Unions in South. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from