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‘Young Workers: A Lost Decade’ |
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Something bad happened in the past 10 years to young workers in this country: Since 1999, more of them now have lower-paying jobs, if they can get a job at all; health care is a rare luxury and retirement security is something for their parents, not them. In fact, many—younger than 35—still live at home with their parents because they can’t afford to be on their own.
These are the findings of a new report, “Young Workers: A Lost Decade.” Conducted in July 2009 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the AFL-CIO and our community affiliate Working America, the nationwide survey of 1,156 people follows up on a similar survey the AFL-CIO conducted in 1999. The deterioration of young workers’ economic situation in those 10 years is alarming.
Nate Scherer, 31, is among today’s young workers. Scherer lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he shares a home with his wife, his parents, brother and his partner. He spoke at a media conference at the AFL-CIO today to discuss the report.
After getting married, my wife and I decided to move in with my parents to pay off our bills. We could afford to live on our own but we’d never be able to get out of debt. We have school loans to pay off, too. We’d like to have children, but we just can’t manage the expense of it right now…so we’re putting it off till we’re in a better place. My [work] position is on the edge, and I feel like if my company were to cut back, my position would be one of the first to go.
During today’s press briefing, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka summed up the report’s findings this way:
We’re calling the report “A Lost Decade” because we’re seeing 10 years of opportunity lost as young workers across the board are struggling to keep their heads above water and often not succeeding. They’ve put off adulthood—put off having kids, put off education—and a full 34 percent of workers under 35 live with their parents for financial reasons.
Just last week we learned that about 1.7 million fewer teenagers and young adults were employed in July than a year before, hitting a record low of 51.4 percent.
As AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said:
Young workers in particular must be given the tools to lead the next generation to prosperity. The national survey we’re releasing today shows just how broken our economy is for our young people…and what’s at stake if we don’t fix it.
Some of the report’s key findings include:
- 31 percent of young workers report being uninsured, up from 24 percent 10 years ago, and 79 percent of the uninsured say they don’t have coverage because they can’t afford it or their employer does not offer it.
- Strikingly, one in three young workers are currently living at home with their parents.
- Only 31 percent say they make enough money to cover their bills and put some money aside—22 percentage points fewer than in 1999—while 24 percent cannot even pay their monthly bills.
- A third cannot pay their bills and seven in 10 do not have enough saved to cover two months of living expenses.
- 37 percent have put off education or professional development because they can’t afford it.
- When asked who is most responsible for the country’s economic woes, close to 50 percent of young workers place the blame on Wall Street and banks or corporate CEOs. And young workers say greed by corporations and CEOs is the factor most to blame for in the current financial downturn.
- By a 22-point margin, young workers favor expanding public investment over reducing the budget deficit. Young workers rank conservative economic approaches such as reducing taxes, government spending and regulation on business among the five lowest of 16 long-term priorities for Congress and the president.
- Thirty-five percent say they voted for the first time in 2008, and nearly three-quarters now keep tabs on government and public affairs, even when there’s not an election going on.
- The majority of young workers and nearly 70 percent of first-time voters are confident that Obama will take the country in the right direction.
Trumka, who is running for AFL-CIO president without announced opposition at our convention later this month, is making union outreach to young people a top priority. He said one of the report’s conclusions is especially striking:
Young people want to be involved but they’re rarely asked. Their priorities are even more progressive than the priorities of the older generation of working people, yet they aren’t engaged by co-workers or friends to get involved in the economic debate.
Currently, 18-to-35-year-olds make up a quarter of union membership. And at the AFL-CIO Convention, we will ask Convention delegates to approve plans for broad recruitment of young workers, as well as plans for training and leadership of young workers who are currently union members. And that’s just the beginning of a broad push towards talking and mobilizing young workers in the coming months and years.
According to the report, more than half of young workers say employees are more successful getting problems resolved as a group rather than as individuals, and employees who have a union are better off than employees in similar jobs who do not.
Read the full report here.
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Yes, and by supporting illegal immigration this “Lost Decade” was created by the AFL-CIO!!
How can workers unionize when they are threatened with replacement by illegal aliens? In fact the workers at Howard Industries were not able to unionize until AFTER the company was raided by immigration and all the illegal aliens were removed.
The union didn’t create the problems with “illegal” immigration. Your very post supports the fact that the employers that hire them are the problem. Please explain how this is a union created problem.
@Bowman
So I suppose we should put up a fence to keep them out? Or station patrols on the border to catch illegal immigrants? Or how about give private militias (i.e. “minutemen”) license to round up these individuals? What’s that? We’ve done all of that, and they still come here?
It must be nice to live in this black and white world that you live in. Can you walk a mile in an illegal’s shoes for a moment? Imagine facing a treacherous hundred or so mile walk where people die in large numbers simply from the journey. Also imagine if you will, that you guide will regularly take advantage of you by either extorting money from you or, you know, raping you. And imagine that when you get here, if you’re ever caught, you get sent right back, or maybe even put in prison for an indefinite period of time. Why would anyone ever make a journey like that?
To be truthful, I don’t know. But it must be a pretty damn good reason, and I don’t see there being any real solution to the problem besides figuring out a way to bring them into our society and acclimating them. It’s sad that you’re so stupid, you can’t figure out that if they want to get here, they’re going to find a way, no matter what we do.
As someone raised in a family of union members and organizers and as an American I find the situation described as nothing short of shameful! The question of illegal immigration is only the tip of a much larger iceberg. Corporate management has failed its workforce. Cutting wages and reducing costs is destructive of corporate goals of increasing shareholder value. What do you do when you get costs down to zero? That means zero product. It’s time for unions to force issues - the right to unionize, the right to protect workers against hiring illegals (repeat: ILLEGALS - i.e. lawbreakers), to be held accountable for poor management practices and the lack of coherent strategies, etc. American workers are productive. When their wages are cut there is no incentive to be more so. And the problem lies with management, many of whom are paid enormous severance bonuses totally unrelated to performance. It’s perverse and destructive.
Congress along with past administrations have done everything they can to destroy Young America. They have done this by making free trade agreements, allowing factories to go overseas by making states such as California unfriendly to businesses thanks to the California Legislature in this case. College tuition has increased making training out of reach. Illegal aliens are welcome in the labor field while labor is imported to take the young people’s jobs thanks to an unrepresentative government and a non caring business groups.
Bowman, prove your point. How have illegal aliens made our corporations flee? How have they caused the outsourcing of millions of American blue and white collar jobs?
I agree with the article. The causes are complex and there are many. Among them I’d put some blame on the free trade folks, Clinton included (and I’m a proud Democrat). We need to hold other countries to the same environmental and labor standards that we hold our own companies to. If they don’t meet them, I am convinced that tariffs should be used to bring the costs of the goods up to what they would cost to produce under our or similar labor and environmental regulations. This would go a long way toward both improving the quality of life for people in other countries and would stem the flow of American jobs overseas.
In response to a previous poster. How have illegal aliens made our corporations flee? How have they caused the outsourcing of millions of American blue and white collar jobs?
I agree with the article. The causes are complex and there are many. Among them I’d put some blame on the free trade folks, Clinton included (and I’m a proud Democrat). We need to hold other countries to the same environmental and labor standards that we hold our own companies to. If they don’t meet them, I am convinced that tariffs should be used to bring the costs of the goods up to what they would cost to produce under our or similar labor and environmental regulations. This would go a long way toward both improving the quality of life for people in other countries and would stem the flow of American jobs overseas.
First, our Corporation have not fled, they are still based in the US and listed on the NYSE because they are making high profits and executive bonuses due to hiring illegal aliens and off shoring jobs.
I agree we do need to hold other countries to higher labor and environmental standards (China is a prime example), but even if that happens there will still be lots of products and services off shored. A few of those jobs might come back to the US but most would just go for example from China to Brazil.
Young people will have a chance to succeed if this nation once again will unionize.
There is a reason why these young people don’t have jobs that pay a living wage, don’t have pensions, little heath care or a decent benefits package. We Baby Boomers DROPPED THE BALL! We sat on our butts and watched our big screen TV’s, instead of going to Union Meetings. We elected politicians from BOTH MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES who gave away our jobs and manufacturing base to NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT and the WTO. We didn’t and don’t care as long as WE GOT OURS! And in the process we left our children and their childrens children a third world nation. How to fix it? Instead of listening to the talking heads give us the latest Wall Street Market Reports and allowing the Chamber of Commerce to run our towns, we’ve got to take start taking care of ourselves. Ignorance is the greatest ally of “Business as Usual.” We must insist on LABOR EDUCATION HISTORY as part of the CORE CURRICULUM at our schools. This should go hand in hand with Business Adminstation if we wish to give our children the tools to live a decent quality of life. We’ve got to “teach our children” by showing them the way. And just as importantly we should do as Great Britain and Australia did over 100 years ago, and that is to start and fund a bonafide US LABOR PARTY, because we are not being served by the “status quo.”
One HUGE reason young people can’t get work is because those jobs are being taken by illegal aliens…been to a fast food place lately? Tell me why the current leadership won;t back a 99.6% accurate E-VERIFYprogram.Don’t bemoan this situation while your policies make it worse.
Strongbuck,I’d really like to know the answer to that myself.It seems we’re all for the poor and downtrodden so long as they are not AMERICAN CITIZENS and got here illegally.
yea Rich Trumka…bemoaning the fact of lost jobs for American youth …all the while fighting for amnesty for the very people who took those jobs. Hypocracy abounds
MY name is John Buck,fromPT PLEASANT NJ,find me on facebook,let’s take our Unions BACK
The unions need to get back to the basics, and take care of the members, not the political will of liberals. A few things I would like to say to the Union:
1. They are illegals, not undocumented workers. And yes, they are costing Americans jobs, causing our local taxes to increase, and yes, they are putting downward pressure on the prevailing wage scales. A union that does not vigorously demand strong action to stop illegal immigration –DOES NOT REPRESENT ME! Also, don’t buy the bull that illegals will not be covered by the health care legislation. One way or another they will be….as the pres said “I will make a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally”. Also, a simple amendment after this bill is passed can provide full coverage. WE SIMPLY CAN’T AFFORD IT!!
2. Most union members HAVE health insurance and are happy with it. The AFL-CIO’s support of the president’s health care reform will only serve to drain additional tax money out of the pockets of UNION MEMBERS. Spare me the crap about how the rich are going to pay for health care reform. The rich will be taxed more for sure, but they will PASS ON that cost to us! Most who are rich, as defined as making more than 250K (says our pres) are business owners. Rest assured that cost will be paid for by us, through higher costs for goods and services. Another question for our union leadership….if the rich pay for health care, who is going to pay to fix everything else? Hmm? Social Security, cap and trade, the insane deficit, the debt?
The union leadership may feel some need to “Pay-Back” the dems and pres for the auto bailout and the free choice act, BUT US WORKING STIFFS DON’T!!!. That is the crap that gives us a bad name in our communities and makes contract negotiations so much more difficult. Don’t try to deny it! You are pushing health care changes when we already have good health care. IT IS NOT YOUR JOB TO ADVOCATE FOR NON UNION MEMBERS!!! Try to look past your nose and you will see that the health care reform being proposed now will likely result in poorer health care benefits for union members and higher taxes. You can’t bring millions up, without bringing millions down and it is people like us that will be brought down.
Does it not bother you in the least that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has repeatedly said that the health care proposal will NOT REDUCE HEALTH CARE EXPENSES AND WILL INCREASE THE DEFICIT AND DEBT?
I really want to know where all the union members who support drowning this nation in debt for this ill defined health care plan are, because NO SHOP MEMBERS HERE SUPPORT THE HEALTH CARE REFORM PLAN!.
We are almost to the point where we are going to start attending these meetings and letting our elected officials know that we are AFL-CIO members who DO NOT SUPPORT our union leadership in this matter.
Yes, I am a union member….and have been so for almost 20 years. The moderator of this forum is free to contact me and I will happily prove it.
My 25 year old son is in the television industry as a broadcast engineer. He holds 3 part time jobs as the TV station does not want to hire FT or give benefits. He is still at home because trying to pay off student loans and having to buy another used car after his first had 173,000 miles on it keeps him from getting ahead. How can any of our kids get ahead or get paid a decent wage if the employer operates this way? He is union too. He is in desperate need of dental work and only sees the way out by joining the Army to get ahead.
Alaskan, I can beat that. Got my 25 yr. union pin last month.
And, no, I don’t have HEALTH INSURANCE; not since Carter was in office. And neither do many of my colleagues. Those that do usually have it through a spouse’s job; and we know what’s happening to jobs all over. The union jobs are just disappearing a bit slower.
The several non-profits with which my union bargains for me truly aren’t in any position to provide that. (This was true even before they all came calling for contract reopeners to stave off bankruptcy. I’m just glad that some of those CBA’s afford us tenure and mandate working conditions that don’t cause us permanent physical damage.) The best we can do is try to get some group rate on individually paid for health policies for union members. And my income gets smaller every year.
Yes, we need lots of things to turn around the economy. Some reasonable expectation of being able to see a doctor is just a necessity for a civilized society.
And I don’t pretend to have all the answers for the economy, but it does seem to me that giving tax breaks to corporations that send jobs overseas, and then using tax dollars from poor working stiffs like me and thee to support them diplomatically and militarily could be part of the problem. Hmm…
Can someone answer me this? Can a union form it’s own insurance company? If so, would this not only benefit it’s members but also be a great selling point for other workers to join? Wouldn’t even their employers be more open to unions in their shops for the reduced costs in insurance premiums? Think if all the unions banded together the minimal cost to the members if that could happen?
Like it or not this Health Care Plan will cost us money. The government gets it’s money from the taxpayer, YOU. What is to stop a company from dropping it’s health insurance saying you can now get it from the government? Nothing. We are already in debt over our heads.
In the past two posts I have recommended that we begin a US Labor Party and they have not been posted. Is the AFL-CIO so married to the duops that such posts are deleted? Please, show me otherwise. I have been an active dues paying member of the NALC/AFL-CIO for many, many years.
Hopefully you all get a chance, to check out Mike Rowe( of Dirty Jobs) website. He’s taking the bull by the horns and promoting the skilled trades, with an all out PR campaign. I’m a fellow union member, IAM Local 701. Could use ALL your help, in promoting these skilled jobs for America’s future.
http://www.mikeroweWORKS.com
Best,
Jeremy Fry