Five Things Unions Have Done For Americans

Think Progress has a report on some of the things unions, in both the public and private sector, have done for middle class Americans.

1. Unions Gave Us The Weekend: Even the ultra-conservative Mises Institute notes that the relatively labor-free 1870, the average workweek for most Americans was 61 hours — almost double what most Americans work now.

That’s so Americans could spend more time with their families. Remember “family values”?

2. Unions Gave Us Fair Wages And Relative Income Equality: …the relative decline of unions over the past 35 years has mirrored a decline in the middle class’s share of national income.

3. Unions Helped End Child Labor

4. Unions Won Widespread Employer-Based Health Coverage

5. Unions Spearheaded The Fight For The Family And Medical Leave Act: Labor unions like the AFL-CIO federation led the fight for this 1993 law, which “requires state agencies and private employers with more than 50 employees to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave annually for workers to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, seriously ill family member or for the worker’s own illness.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.