By Samuel Rubenfeld
fter eight years of Bush administration anti-labor policies, the next presidency may take a more positive approach toward the concerns of working people, said Stephen Greenhouse, the chief labor reporter for the New York Times, at a University Club luncheon Wednesday afternoon.
Part of a day-long conference on labor issues in the next administration, Greenhouse said the recent economic morass has been especially hard on labor. "This is a trying time for America's workers," he said.
He described the perfect storm of economic bad news hitting working families: Since the latest economic recovery, median income has fallen by 4 percent, health care costs doubled while the number of uninsured people rose, housing prices are falling dramatically and pensions-the few who still have them instead of 401K plans-are being pilfered by companies trying to stay afloat.
"There's something very broken about the nation's retirement security," Greenhouse said.
Corporate profits doubled during the recovery but are now falling amid the financial mess. The last eight years have been especially hostile to unionization efforts, especially around issues like workplace safety, he said. "Many companies felt they could get away with anything," Greenhouse said. "I am hoping that people in corporate America will rethink how they treat their workers."
He said conditions for students entering the workforce now "are worse than any time since the early 1980s."
Greenhouse is the author of the recent book, "The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker," in which he tells the stories of workers struggling in a system designed against their interests.
Greenhouse mentioned how the country spends more than it earns, creating a negative savings rate, before saying that the consumption rate led in part to the economic ruin. "People went so deeply into debt they were financing their homes to maintain everyday purchases," he said.
Also in attendance was Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), who said bringing a second stimulus package to workers was the highest priority of the Congress. "We have to recognize government's role in job creation and economic stimulus," he said. "Mainstream economists of all political stripes recognize that deficit spending to stimulate the economy in the short term is appropriate."
Stephen Greenhouse, chief labor reporter for the New York Times, spoke about the concerns of workers and the way the new administration should organize labor concerns. (University Relations)