Officials told reporters last week that the layoffs are part of a restructuring to reduce the company's payroll by 15 percent. Whatever the reason for the layoffs, it is a blow for WashTech. WashTech is hardly alone. Nationwide, labor unions have stepped up organizing efforts, with mixed results. Unions are bringing in hundreds of thousands of new people, but layoffs have offset additions to the membership ranks.
Fear also plays a role.
The Human Rights Watch maintains that in the latter part of the 1990s, more than 20,000 employees were retaliated against in some way because of union involvement. In 1969, only 6,000 suffered reprisals. Diane E. Lewis is a member of the Globe staff. To read her collected columns online, click here .