Kate Bronfenbrenner, a labor researcher at Cornell University, insists that's critical to labor's survival. The machinists' Lynch insists that is already happening. Some unions, meanwhile, are taking a tip from corporate America by joining forces with other unions. The Service Employees International Union, for example, recently allied with Local 1199, the 155,000-member health care workers' union, to enhance its influence with legislators and stem the tide of layoffs in health care. Upgraded job training is another strategy for unions.
Unions can help employees upgrade their skills and benefit the employers, too.
Local 282 is already moving in that direction. Labarbera predicts a significant increase in such union-delivered training. The bottom line is that organized labor has to become marketable. The employers, when they're dealing with organized labor, are paying a premium. We have to offer them something in return.