Union bargainers are trying to preserve jobs more often than push for big wage gains. Total compensation for union members rose only 2.7 percent for the 12 months ended in June, compared to 3.8 percent for non-union workers. The issues of job insecurity permeate nearly every strike we see today. What workers are striking for is less about wages and less about benefits, and more about future, the future on the job, their security on the job. Union membership keeps declining, now only one out of every seven workers, while corporate America's downsizing shows no sign of slowing down.
Companies keep shifting manufacturing South of the border or overseas to cut expenses.
It is incumbent upon management to continue to take a stand in squeezing labor cost pressures to an absolute minimum. Rather than respond to workers' demands, corporate executives are answering to Wall Street investors looking for ever higher profits. So while labor unions are winning some battles, they still appear to be losing the war. Allan Chernoff, NBC News, New York. And when we continue, the British spy who came in from the cold and brought some heat.