Public Employee Press

Other Voices

Laura Reyes
It is time to talk to our children about unions

We've come a long way in this country, but certainly not always in the right direction when it comes to speaking openly and proudly about the value of unions. At a time when unionization hovers at 11 percent and it's barely over 6 percent in the private sector, merely talking about unions can seem like a radical act, yet it's a conversation we cannot abandon, especially when it comes to talking with our children.

Every day, we get new reminders of how political rancor and bad policy hamper this nation's youngest generation. Our little ones suffer in the lunchroom when politicians slash school meal programs. College-age children are saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt. They face an anemic job market where a college degree that costs too much will often culminate in a job that pays too little to stay afloat.

Parents know the acute anxiety when a child turns to us for answers and we feel we have none. But with growing certainty, Americans sense that the deck is stacked. And there's growing dialogue in our country about economic mobility and fairness, and that there is in fact an answer for unstacking the deck: unions.

Unions can rebuild the middle class, just as we built it two generations earlier. We bring better pay and benefits. In fact, union bargaining for fair pay means a worker takes home on average, approximately $207 more a week.

Those opposed to working folks having that sort of collective strength love to condescend, telling us that we no longer need unions. But ask your kids if they'd rather make $207 more a week and see if they grasp the concept of what unions can achieve for everyone today. The fact is, where union density is the highest in this country, workers have increased economic security.

There are encouraging signs that the value of unions is sinking in with the youngest generation of workers. Recently, a new poll showed that among all age categories, those between 18-29 have the most favorable view of unions, with only 29 percent viewing them unfavorably.

Young workers are an integral part of the Fight for $15 movement in which people are rallying and organizing, demanding fair wages from companies raking in billions in profit off the backs of workers.

Within AFSCME, our youngest members - called the Next Wave - are organizing to strengthen our union with one-on-one conversations in their workplaces and homes through a new campaign called AFSCME Strong.

In 2014, AFSCME surpassed our organizing goals by more than 100 percent. That means AFSCME's membership is growing every day - we've organized nearly 140,000 new members since the beginning of 2014, even in right-to-work states.

It also means ordinary people are stepping up and having conversations in work sites and at kitchen tables about why unions are the best way for workers to raise their wages and bargain for fairness in the workplace.

I know how powerful talking with young people about unions can be. I had this exact conversation just a few weeks ago with my own daughter, a junior in high school.

She just started her first job, as a hostess at a restaurant, and she asked me about unions. As a union organizer mom, I was happy to oblige, and we talked about fair pay and treatment on the job, as well as workplace safety. She deserves to hear that information.

It's the type of conversation that decades prior wouldn't have been unusual. As American manufacturing was on the upswing and unionization rates were robust, families had those conversations in plenty of households as children considered their options after high school. Now, when our older children are rolling their eyes in disgust at what awaits them in the job market, we need to let them know that there is a solution, but only if they become a part of it.

Laura Reyes is secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, DC 37's parent union. This article previously appeared in The Huffington Post.