Notes on Economics - Unions
Here (thankfully, since I am ready to move on) are the last unpublished economic notes, on the subject of unions, about which John in Phoenix and I dialogued in the comments following the recent posting on globalization.
Civil rights came to American unions in the 60s and 70s, helping raise the economic prospects of African Americans, but labor leaders do not seem to be emphasizing this group in their new organizing efforts.
The NFL effectively busted the players union in 1987, but this last season had all the players wearing the initials of the deceased union president on their helmets.
The AFL-CIO chooses to function more as a lobby group, while splinter unions believe organizing more workers is a better approach.
France changed the law to allow more hire/fire power over young workers to solve a problem of "bad hires". What really was needed was better training for students to be better workers and better training for managers to be better managers.
Another problem with retirement based on private investment by the retirees rather than on the guaranteed benefit plans the unions used to negotiate is that those near retirement, when the market drops, decide they cannot retire, which keeps a job away from someone who needs it, which in turn hurts the economy and adds to the downward spiral.
Today, the NY Times had an interesting article about the many year struggle of nurses in Kentucky to form a union in spite of ongoing illegal intimidation by the corporate employer.
Before leaving the subject of economics for this round, I highly recommend this excellent PDF format article by Joe Keefe the head of the sustainable investing based Pax Funds. It is a well reasoned view on the wisdom of adopting a long range approach to economic viability, factoring in social and environmental concerns. The article includes some historical context and proposes some meaningful changes.
posted by Tom Blake | 9:35 AM
2 Comments:
There is a growing (I think) segment of retirement aged people who suspect or realize (if they are already retired) that retirement can be boring. I manage a retirement community that sells itself on active retirement at its finest. There is golf, tennis, bocce ball, numerous crafts, softball, horseshoes, many card games (a dying amusement to my great regret), etc. But many of the residents, especially the male residents, miss the stimulation that a real job gave them. They compensate by joining HOA committees or working in the woodshop, or running the tennis club, etc.
Many older people are not retiring because they have reached some prescribed age. Many others who have retired are returning to work. Some need the money given the recent economic shocks, but others want to continue to have some meaning in their lives.
Some, like me, take a job that gives them a sense of helping others at a much lower salary than their previous career. I have been in my retirement job now for eight years, and have no immediate plans for retirement.
Does the fact that some older people refuse to retire lock out younger people from getting a better job? I don't think so.
John from Phoenix
Studs Terkel showed with his book "Working", that most people are not thrilled with their jobs. One advantage of retirement years is having more time to spend doing things by choice rather than necessity. What a retiree chooses to do with the extra time is a personal decision, based on experience, needs and desires. My personal experience was heavy on responsibility, so I have trouble choosing play over doing chores. I don't need to work for income, because I have little trouble controlling my spending. I don't need work to find meaning, because I am hard wired to do that search even when I play. My work as an attorney was all about helping other people and I know I have done plenty of that, but to the extent the urge to help is in my bones, I am trying to do it less directly and with less sense of obligation in my retirement years.
I do think people of retirement age who do not need the money, but continue to work for pay, are taking a job away from somebody else. But so are any younger workers who are not doing a fair day's work for the pay they receive.
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