National Delegate Conference 16-19 June
2008
Reach out and strengthen the labour movement
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Tom Woodruff
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In an inspiring speech,Tom Woodruff, Executive Vice President,
of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) warned UNISON
to notice the signs and make sure that our country does not follow
the same path as the US.
Tom pointed out the severity of the economic and social situation
in the US. From the fifties through to the seventies, there had
been economic growth and the people prospered.
Since then there have been 30 years of going back the way. Since
the 70s, the increase of the average worker's hourly rate was
2% - not annually but over the course of the thirty years.
He indicated that one third of public sector work is contracted
out in the US, and there is constant pressure for the private
sector to increase their share. Over the last five years, Corporate
Profits have increased by 110%, so where are all these profits
going? He explained that CEO pay has skyrocketed from 27 times
more than the worker wages in 1973 to 344 times higher today.
Tom named and shamed a number of CEOs including a CEO who made
$740m in stock sale, lost $51.1bn from public service funding,
bought a 25 bedroom house, "How is it possible for anyone to be
so full of shit he needs 30 bathrooms?"
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
", although
times were tough, there was a new hope for the future with the
election of Barack Obama, explained Tom.
He said that the reduction in union density correlated with the
deterioration in level of wages and other conditions for workers.
In the US there only one in eight workers are unionised. Within
the public sector the density does rise to 35%.
The SEIU with two million members in healthcare, public and property
services, has worked successfully over the last few years and
invested greatly in organisation and have reaped the benefits
in membership numbers.
He explained about the unions ongoing campaigning - for the Employee
Free Choice Act that would make it easier for people to join a
union; for health care for all; for Comprehensive Immigration
reform that would allow some 12m undocumented immigrants come
out of the shadows and get proper employment protection and rights;
and for the Federal Government to help the labour movement.
Tom said that the UK was still a far more civilised country than
the US, but that we should be aware of the warning signs - average
CEO pay in the UK was 25 times average workers pay in 1986, in
2006 this had risen to 98 times.
"Change is going to happen.Are we going to grow our labour movement
so that we leave a modicum of economic and social justice?"
"I have seven grandchildren. I am embarrassed, no I am ashamed.
For 200 years, we have handed over to the next generation a better
life with more opportunities.
We will be the first generation to turn over a society with
more injustice, a lack of opportunity and under assault by every
son of a bitch?"
Tom emphasised that we have to reach out and strengthen our labour
movement if we are ever going to turn things around.
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