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Workers worried, income declining

By John Sweeney
Posted September 5 2005

This Labor Day, we read that more jobs are out there and the housing market is booming. Yet economic dissatisfaction among working Americans is increasing. Nearly 60 percent are not happy with the country's economic situation, according to new research by Peter D. Hart Research for the AFL-CIO.

And it's not just about rising gas prices. Working people are facing tough times. A record 53 percent of working people say their family's income is falling behind the cost of living.

Rising health care costs are eating away at Americans' security. Fifty percent of working people say they personally worry very or somewhat often about not being able to afford health care. More than 40 million are uninsured and soaring health care bills are one of the top causes of bankruptcies in this country.

Americans are also worried about what health care costs are doing to the country. In fact, 73 percent say establishing a national health care system should be a top priority for Congress and the president.

President Bush raves about the slight increases in the number of jobs available. But working Americans say the No. 2 issue facing them is jobs going overseas. Ten years after NAFTA, Americans have seen millions of jobs stripped from their communities -- and millions more are likely to follow with the recent passage of CAFTA by Congress.

Real wages haven't risen in 20 years, but for decades family income nonetheless outstripped the family bills, in large part because families had an extra worker in reserve -- women. Now the majority of women of working age are working outside the home, and households don't have more workers to throw into the mix to boost their income. Suddenly family income is declining -- it's down nearly 3 percent between 2000 and 2003.



Those Americans without a college education are feeling particularly gloomy this Labor Day. And they're right to worry. Men with only a high school degree have seen their real median wages plummet 15 percent since 1973. Those with a college degree saw them rise 14 percent.

Working parents have their own worries. Seventy-one percent worry very or somewhat often about not being able to afford education costs for their children, and 61 percent worry about not being able to balance work and family.

Finally, Americans want to retire with dignity, and they're not at all sure they'll get that chance; 65 percent of Americans say companies are falling short on providing adequate and secure retirement benefits, compared to 52 percent in 1999. Eighty-six percent of Americans say Congress and the president should strengthen laws that protect employees' right to receive pay and retirement benefits they have earned when their company files for bankruptcy.

It's no wonder, then, that a record number of working Americans -- 53 percent -- who don't already have a union say they would join a union tomorrow if given the chance.

And why not? People with a union make on average 28 percent more than those without, according to U.S. government statistics. And that union advantage rises to 34 for women, and a whopping 59 for Hispanics.

Working Americans don't believe the hype this Labor Day. They're pinching pennies and clipping coupons, hoping that the one member in their family with a health plan doesn't see his or her job shipped overseas. And they're ready for the rest of the country to take off the rose-colored glasses and get to work fixing this mess.

John Sweeney is president of the by AFL-CIO.