The first Labor Day was in 1894, but in 2010, union membership in the private sector is 7.2% and declining. Two years into the Great Recession, 15 million Americans are unemployed. Recovery is underway and companies are making money. But they're not hiring. If the labor movement were stronger, could it turn things around, or do the benefits unions won for their members discourage business from creating new jobs? Do public sector unions put taxpayers on the hook? Would everybody be better off if middle class America could afford American products?
It's Labor Day, Where's Organized Labor?
Credits
Guests:
- Derek Thompson - Staff writer, The Atlantic - @DKThomp
- Harold Meyerson - Editor, The American Prospect; and Columnist - @haroldmeyerson
- Bill George - Professor of Management Practices, Harvard Business School
- Ed Luce - Financial Times - @EdwardGLuce