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Position on Unionized Labor
The Democrats at UCF support workers in their efforts to unionize and fight for better wages, more affordable health care and better opportunities in the workplace. If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since it was introduced it would be at 8.88 an hour as of 2005, as opposed to the actual 5.15 an hour. The Bush administration has launched an unprecedented attack on the rights of workers. It pushed through regulatory changes that have denied millions of workers the right to overtime pay. The regulatory changes sets the wage level under which all workers are guaranteed overtime eligibility to just over 23,000, but it doesn’t index it for inflation. 23,000 is barely 5,000 over the poverty line for a family of four, that means if you make 25,000 dollars you are NOT guaranteed overtime eligibility! That means your employer can work you as many hours as they want and NOT pay you overtime! Worst of all as inflation continues and this minimum stays the same it will cover less and less people.
Unionized workers, on average, earn 20% in wages and 28% more in total compensation in total compensation then non-unionized workers. They also get more generous pensions, pay smaller health care deductibles, and receive more vacation time. This is not because employers cannot afford to pay employees, as corporate profits are increasing. (Source: Economic Policy Institute). The decline of unions has led to an ever shrinking middle class and an erosion of the number of people who can afford health care in America. The total number of people uninsured in the United Stats has risen from 14.2 percent in 2000 to 15.7 percent in 2004.
For those of you who may have read pro-business writing that condemns unions as “intractable” or causing employers to shed jobs look at the examples of airline pilot/flight attendant unions over the past several years, they have agreed to wage cuts and benefits reductions to keep the industry afloat. Unions understand if an industry is in danger and will be make concessions when necessary. The Democrats at UCF fully support the efforts of millions Americans to unionize and fight for a better life.
Weblinks:
Longer hours, less pay:
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_bp152
Union Decline hurts all workers:
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_viewpoints_union_decline
AFL-CIO website:
http://www.aflcio.org/
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