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May 23, 2007
Not looking for the union label
While many like to blame the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs on inexpensive competition from China, this article shows there are other factors at play. Namely, young workers don’t want the jobs.
From the AP:
Family Ties to Labor Become Loosened
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) -- Marvin Bailey remembers his father being tired and stressed out from work in the mill and as a union official. It was enough to propel him away from becoming a third-generation steel mill worker.
"When I woke up in the morning to go to school, my father had already gone," Bailey said. "When I came home from basketball practice, or whatever, he was already in bed, just from being worn out from the day's work.
"That was probably what helped me with my decision," said Bailey, 27, who is studying commercial art design at the Cincinnati Art Academy.
That attitude was typical of the 26-to-42 age group that turned away from steel, auto and other struggling domestic industries, cutting family ties to their unions along the way.
"Unionism and generational dynamics are a pretty strong mixture," said Chuck Underwood, founder of The Generational Imperative Inc., a Cincinnati-based consulting firm.
While baby boomers (ages 43 to 61) tended to be pro-union, their children were more likely to see unions as wanting too much and protecting nonproductive workers.
"They came of age reading bumper stickers that said, 'He who dies with the most toys wins.' They tended to be self-sufficient and self-reliant, and less sympathetic to a union's protection and support," Underwood said.