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From: leland robinson (no email)
Date: Wed Aug 25 2004 - 17:17:53 EDT
Forty or fifty years ago, the typical blue collar worker in America could
earn a family wage, by which I mean he could support, at a decent level,
himself and his wife and children. Today, few blue collar workers earn a
family wage. The real purchasing power of the average male blue collar
worker in America has been declining for a long time (with some ups and
downs, but the trend has been downward).
In 1960, 37 percent of the U.S. private sector workforce was unionized.
Today the figure is less than 13 percent.
The above facts are clearly related.
Relevant to the weakness of the American union movement is the fact that
capital is organized internationally, while labor is organized, at best,
nationally. If American blue-collar workers complain or ask for more money,
industry moves elsewhere. This makes it hard to unionize and puts unions in
a weak bargaining position.
This weakness of American labor impacts all workers (blue collar and white
collar), including those who work on boats.
Lee Robinson
"Katahdin" (Seaton-designed, 42-foot, raised pilot house trawler)
New Bern, NC
P.S.: Forgive me if this is not related closely enough to trawlers and
trawlering. I just couldn't resist adding my 2 cents worth.
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