BALLOT BOX: Right to collective bargaining helped build the nation's great middle class

By James P. Hoffa The Greatest Generation won two World Wars, put a man on the moon, built the interstate highway system, and created the most dynamic economy on earth. Between 1946 and 1973, the U.S. economy was a powerhouse. The middle class grew strong and millions of Americans rose out of poverty. The words "Made in America" meant something -- something the world envied. The Greatest Generation recognized that if people have a right to capitalize their ideas and their country's resources, then people also have the right to capitalize their labor. When the Greatest Generation ran the country, workers bargained collectively for a fair share of the prosperity they created. Those important rights should be protected as part of the state constitution. I urge you to support the Protect Working Families initiative on the ballot in November. Collective bargaining built America's great middle class after World War II. It created a virtuous loop that strengthened the American economy. Workers who bargained for better wages and benefits were able to buy their own homes and fill them with refrigerators and toys and new clothes -- and put a car or two in the garage. Their spending fueled even more manufacturing and even more jobs. Henry Ford understood the concept of an economy driven by consumer demand. In 1914, he famously raised his workers' wages to $5 a day so they could buy the cars they were making. Los Angeles and Detroit had the highest percentage of homeowners after World War II for one reason: Collective bargaining rights were protected for workers in the automotive and aerospace industries. Collective bargaining also allowed employers and employees to negotiate their differences productively, to work together to solve problems, to find efficiencies and to build better products. Those rights have been weakened by job-killing trade deals that let employers pit American workers against low-paid, unskilled foreign workers. Globalization is severely weakening collective bargaining rights. "Made in America" now means that a U.S. manufacturer managed to survive despite the onslaught of cheaper goods from China or Mexico. Collective bargaining rights are under attack, threatening our middle class. It's no coincidence that the middle class is shrinking as collective bargaining rights are being taken away. We're all painfully familiar with the difficulty of surviving in this economy, but here are some statistics that should scare you: The U.S. Census Bureau says the middle class makes up 51 percent of adults, down 16 percent from 1971. In the past decade, the median income for the middle class fell to $69,847 from $72,956, and median wealth fell 28 percent. It's time to rebuild our middle class by going back to the values of the Greatest Generation. It's time to protect collective bargaining rights the way we did in the '40s, '50, '60s and early '70s. We've already seen what collective bargaining did to help save the auto industry. Auto management and auto workers negotiated to make historic changes in production, pay and benefits. Since then, productivity has increased, government loans have been repaid and sales have soared. That couldn't have happened without collective bargaining. Voting "Yes" on Proposal 2 to protect collective bargaining rights should be a no-brainer for Michigan voters -- because it's good for all of us. ---------------- James P. Hoffa is an attorney and labor leader and the general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Hoffa was first elected during December 1998. Published: Thu, Nov 1, 2012