Labor Day

I have done two previous posts to recognize American workers on Labor Day. The first one contained a history of Labor Day provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. The second one focused on a statement about Labor Day issued by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. This year’s Labor Day post will be different, since it seems appropriate to look at Labor Day in the context of the ongoing Great Recession.

Though there have been comparisons between the Great Recession and the Great Depression, no one argues that the Great Recession is as bad as the Great Depression. Unemployment during the Great Depression was about 33% of the workforce. Today, unemployment seems stuck at around 10%.

Before the Great Depression, union membership represented about 10% of the workforce. After the Great Depression, it reached 33%. Membership in organized labor remained strong until the late 1950′s or early 1960′s. Since then, union membership has been in steady decline.

Today, it’s at 8% in the private sector and 33% in the public sector. When putting all union membership together, the overall percentage is 12%. It’s highly unlikely that union membership will spike after the Great Recession like it did after the Great Depression.

There are some similarities between the Great Depression and the Great Recession. From an HR and employment law standpoint, one of the biggest is employers’ effort to get more work out of fewer employees while paying them less.

The unemployed are angry about this, as are the overworked employees who still have jobs. What’s not clear is whether there will be a backlash from the public like there was during the Great Depression. If there is, organized labor may finally get the boost it’s been seeking for decades.

While an apples to apples comparison can’t be made between the Great Depression and the Great Recession, the short-term thinking of employers in both also seems comparable. If the Great Recessions lasts for a while and reports continue about employers hording cash, paying executives big bucks, and working employees more for less money, there will surely be a backlash from the public, together with Labor Days that organized labor can really celebrate.

There’s still time for employers to take a long-term view, but there’s little evidence they will. That may provide organized labor the opportunity to engage in more union organizing of employees in traditional industries — and employees in businesses that have never had unions, particularly if the Great Recession takes a double dip.

Of course, I may be wrong about everything. But if I’m not, human resources professionals and labor and employment lawyers won’t have to worry about unemployment. There will be plenty to do. Time will tell.