Unions do worker training better

President Hoffa lauded CDL program grads earlier this year at Fort Sill, Okla.

We've written extensively about the importance of unions in American life -- how unions provide a pathway to the middle class by paying $200 a week more than non-union jobs as well as offering good health care and other benefits.

One thing that is often overlooked, however, is how unions provide skilled workers to American companies. For decades, trained labor professionals have taken up important roles in many different sectors of society. The Teamsters, for example, have been at the forefront of providing qualified truckers to businesses so they can safety transport cargo along the highways of this nation.

But increasingly, the corporate class has taken the cheap way out. And they are paying the price for that, as a Washington Post story states:

Although it has historically constructed high-quality educational pipelines to well-paying jobs in cooperation with employers, labor has lost ground over the years. In the absence of union training programs, businesses in vast sectors of the economy are scrambling to meet their workforce needs through other means, like piecemeal job training programs and partnerships with community colleges, with few solutions that have really broad reach.

Some have attempted to go around the union model and form apprenticeships. But as the article states, in many cases that can "lead to a proliferation of low-quality programs." Imitators often can't provide the same skills that unions have.

The Teamsters haven't stopped trying to improve the skills of hardworking Americans. In fact, it is a integral part of our core mission. Earlier this year, the union announced it was teaming with the U.S. Army and ABF Freight to provide commercial driver's license (CDL) training to veterans transitioning to civilian life. It's just the latest effort of the Teamster Military Assistance Program.

In addressing the first graduating class of drivers at Fort Sill, Okla. in March, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said the union was providing a service that he hoped would be expanded:

The men and women who defend and protect our country deserve good, full-time jobs when they return home. I am proud that our union is working in this great partnership to honor our military veterans and help them transition to a rewarding civilian career.

If America wants to compete in an increasingly global economy, it needs to do more to succeed. Better worker training means better services and safety for all Americans. Labor unions like the Teamsters make it happen every day.

A college degree is not the answer for all workers. It should be the goal of lawmakers across the political spectrum to encourage youth not pursuing post-secondary academic studies to obtain training in a skill area that will provide them with the opportunity to earn a living wage and give them a career track that will ultimately give them a foothold in the middle class.

Increasing worker training, particularly through labor unions like the Teamsters, will ensure that will happen. That's good for workers and good for America.

Unions provide a path to prosperity

The plight of the American worker has been well-documented by the Teamsters and others. Many don't know how much money they will bring home to their families because of uncertain hours and pay. The businesses that employ them are not being held accountable, and we all suffer because of it.

The Teamsters are helping those leaving the military find jobs.

Wages in recent years have been going down, not up, for a majority of workers when inflation is taken into account. Bad trade deals and pro-corporate legislation like so-called "right-to-work" is part of the problem. Retirements are uncertain. And it is having a huge effect on the outlook of many Americans, some of who are ready to give up.

A new study conducted by pollster Anna Greenberg on behalf of George Washington University professor Amitai Etzioni found:

The majority of Americans indeed experience an acute sense of economic anxiety. Americans are most concerned that Social Security will not be there when they retire. They also fear that they will not have enough money of their own when their working days are over. Indeed, even for now, the majority feels it may not have enough money to pay the bills and -- that they may lose their jobs. 

There is no one answer to how the U.S. can rebuild the confidence of our nation's workers and emerge victorious against the growing national scourge of income inequality. But the Teamsters are committed to doing our part, beginning with a partnership with ABF to get those leaving the military their commercial drivers' license and a trucking job.

Speaking to American Legion members today in Washington, D.C., Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa said more parties need to work together to get people back to work:

The whole thing is about partnering. How do we get this job done? We take this tremendous job of transitioning 130,000 people out of the military every year, and find some way to get them into civilian life. And not dead-end jobs. We want to find good jobs, We want to find jobs where they can build their life, make good money, have a family, have health care, have pensions and have a real future.

The most recent election shows that workers can no longer rely on government to do what's right. Unions like the Teamsters, who help our members earn better wages, can play a critical role. Joining one is a way workers can get back on their feet.