Montana: Unions Reflect Regions Changing Economy
From the Missoulian:
Montana's unemployment rate remains low and wages are rising, reflecting an era in which the state's workers have more bargaining power in the job market than ever before.
While many local unions are using that newfound clout to push for higher wages and health-care insurance, they are also struggling to convince the newest generation of workers that organized labor is necessary.
In Missoula, there are unions for teachers, plumbers, carpenters, musicians, electricians, housekeepers, restaurant staff and nursing home workers. Their enrollment numbers reflect a gradual shift away from an economy firmly based in the natural resources industry toward one rooted in a variety of services.
At the Lumber Production and Industrial Workers Local No. 3038, for example, membership has fallen off sharply as mill after mill has either laid off its workers or shut down.
“In Missoula, in our great heyday, there were several sawmills in this immediate area and they were all represented by three different locals,” said union representative Michael Woodworth.
Those groups gradually merged into a local organization that currently counts only 117 members, he said. Back in the 1970s, that membership totaled 1,100.
In fact, without enough members to support a full-time representative, Woodworth may soon lose his job. If that happens, members will have to rely on local officers and part-time stewards.
“The local will be here as long as we have members,” said Woodworth, who has been a member for 35 years and worked at the union for about 20 years. “The problem is keeping the local staffed full-time.”...click to continue.
