Millennials and Organized Labor — Building a Bridge

As a millennial who has worked in “establishment politics” and the Democratic Party for now over 10 years, I never thought twice about supporting organized labor and unions. Collective bargaining rights and the ability of average people to organize to speak truth to power is part of what makes the Democratic Party great for me. However, over the last year and even more so the last few months, I have heard comments about standing up to “big labor” and why labor no longer represents “our values” as Democrats. This rhetoric for me, is not just wrong but intensely problematic for moving forward in an increasingly divided era.

Fundamentally, Democrats stand for rights, and let’s be clear, human rights are workers’ rights and workers’ rights are social rights and all of these rights must be consistently protected and upheld in order for our country to be as great as we all hope it can be. While the 2016 election showed that within the rank and file of labor organizations there are those who voted for DT, this does not justify the abandoning of the core values that are promoted by strengthening and investing in organized labor and ultimately strengthening the core support for Democrats nationwide.

So, instead of being frustrated, I decided to take some time and make the suggestions outlined below for how we can better bridge the divide between millennials and organized labor. While these are mostly for those in politics, they could also be used to prove to those who were supportive of 45 and those of my generation that organized labor still stands firmly in support of the values we all care about.

Before I can speak to those solutions though I think it’s important to take a step back and acknowledge how we got here. We as millennials are for the most part the first generation who saw our parents lose job security and benefits despite union representation. Having a union job no longer meant a guaranteed job and a pathway to the middle class. These experiences shape an understanding that pensions, “the weekend” and the bargaining table in general are relics of a day gone by.

These experiences also have contributed to policy outcomes and social norms that stigmatize jobs that do not require a college education. In fact, traditional schools promoted college as the only post-secondary option available to students for the majority of millennials. These experiences and the lack of organizing in non-traditional spheres like service employees and food service, that have only recently become more common, lead to a stigmatization of labor unions as only representing jobs for those who didn’t follow the mainstream. Despite all this, polling finds that in general millennials support the idea of unionized labor, this is a strong starting point for moving this conversation forward.

In that same time, the existing leaders of organized labor were aging with a lower participation rate of the next generation. Forcing leaders to serve longer and become less in touch with the values of the incoming workers. This means that while a 40 hour work week and job safety conditions were the issues du jour of that group they had little experiencing adapting those values to the millennial experience.

This sets up a scenario where an older organizer or leader attempts to engage a younger audience of workers to organize them without the ability to navigate the needs of those workers. Obviously, this leads to challenges where the rules of engagement and tools for recruitment are not relatable and many times ineffective.

So, how do we fix it?

1.The foundation for this has already begun with educational institutions and policy makers beginning to reinvest in apprenticeship and job training programs but we must do more.

The goal should be destigmatizing “working with your hands” or not following a “traditional college route”. This includes no longer referencing jobs as “not sexy” or beneath us. Understanding that there are good paying jobs for those who are willing to learn a skill or a trade or work in service to our community.

These jobs many times pay more and are more stable long term for those first entering the workforce and should be treated as such. Make sure that these jobs are included in job/post secondary fairs at both the high school and collegiate level, access helps dispel myths.

Additionally, those who impact policy decisions must create opportunities for these paths including providing grants and scholarships to allow for job training programs like truck driving schools and construction trades.

2. Change the terms of engagement. Rather than talking about bargaining for the 40-hour work week and job safety issues, begin a conversation about work/life balance and mental health breaks. Highlight values such as, structured scheduling, paid family leave, and cost of living wage increases as those which can greatly increase quality of job performance and work experience.

Millennials have been conditioned that they will not be in one career for life, labor must adapt to that mindset to sell the value of collective bargaining. Discuss how long term benefits can exist even with changing companies. Show the incentives of early retirement savings and building long term wealth, develop the broader picture for the worker.

Millennials understand the group dynamic can make change, they just need to know that the changes will impact them and what they care about. Make sure that the engagement includes strong early adopters who can reinforce the positive aspects of bargaining, and empower existing leaders. These people will serve as ambassadors and validators who can push back on false narratives and promote positive views of organized labor.

3.Create coalitions where new voices can be heard within the movement. Empower organizers and job site leads who look like the type of workers’ labor wants to reach. Make sure these coalitions are diverse, women, people of color, these inclusions will go a long way towards a good faith effort of creating space at the table.

This includes making sure that recruitment efforts are based in the communities labor intends to reach. Ensuring that apprenticeship classes and mentorship provide opportunity pathways for success for underserved people. Also promote cultural competency classes within organizers and job site leads to make sure they are vigilant of discriminatory language and behavior within other workers.

Then build the movement from the outside by empowering social justice coalitions including making sure the table of social, civil and reproductive justice work includes labor tie in and buy in and that labor’s organizing messages includes those values as well.

Membership should be encouraged to participate in organization leadership and volunteer work that reflects the values outlined above. Highlight positive influences of that work and promote how that can make for more positive work experiences overall. Building the big tent isn’t easy but more hands makes for lighter work.

These solutions aren’t intended to be the end of this discussion, but rather a starting place. I have seen first-hand these changes being implemented and the impact they can make. I hope that sharing them will allow them to spread, ultimately building a coalition that can move forward, united against divisive rhetoric and for the empowerment of all.