Got a recession? Get a union.
So concludes a report by a surprising source: the World Bank, the
global financial authority whose lending policies have historically
tended to place it at odds with organized labor.
The report, "Unions and Collective Bargaining: Economic Effects
in a Global Environment," analyzed more than 1,000 studies
on unions and pay settlements. It found that high unionization rates
can lead to lower unemployment and inflation rates, higher productivity
and faster adjustment to economic shocks.
"This report reinforces everything we in the labor movement
have been saying for years," said IBEW International President
Edwin D. Hill. "I’m glad to see the World Bank is catching
on to ideas that have for so long been fundamental to our way of
life."
Union members in rich and poor countries earn significantly more
money than workers who do not belong to a union. In the United States,
the study said wages are 15 percent higher and in other industrialized
countries they are up to 10 percent higher. The AFL-CIO has put
the union advantage at an average of 25 percent higher in the United
States and 30 percent for women and minorities.
"A well-functioning labor market is essential for solid economic
performance as well as future economic growth and for the well-being
of workers and their families," said a summary of the report
on the World Bank web site at www.worldbank.org.
The report said union members receive more training, work fewer
hours and have longer job tenure on average than non-union workers.
Countries with a history of wage bargaining have "less persistent
unemployment and fewer and shorter strikes," the study said.
The World Bank plays a major role in shaping the global economy
by setting, implementing and enforcing rules governing international
trade, often benefiting multinational corporations at the expense
of sustainable development, workers and the environment. It has
been criticized by the international labor community for promoting
policies that roll back workers’ rights, reduce real wages,
privatize and deregulate public services and mire poor countries
in debt.
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