A bit of Labor Day news: American workers are the most productive in the world.
American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year. They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States “leads the world in labor productivity.”
The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg at $55,641, Belgium at $55,235 and France at $54,609.
. . .
The U.S., according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work — a second key measure of productivity.. . .
Whereas a Chinese industrial worker produces $12,642 worth of output — almost eight times more than in 1980 — a laborer in the farm and fisheries sector contributes a paltry $910 to gross domestic product.
The difference is much less pronounced in the United States, where a manufacturing employee produced an unprecedented $104,606 of value in 2005. An American farm laborer, meanwhile, created $52,585 worth of output, down 10 percent from seven years ago, when U.S. agricultural productivity peaked.
Consequently, American laborers have seen steady increases in wages and leisure time. O.k., just joking about that. But, still. &$%*& Norwegians!
With these facts in mind, I’d now like to direct you to an opinion column featured in today’s Lafayette Journal & Courier entitled “Today’s employees need to develop a better work ethic.”
And the general attitude that many workers have is: “What is the least I can do and the most I can get paid for it?”
Nobody wants responsibility.
Many young people don’t want to start at entry-level positions.
They want to name all the conditions for their job and they want to start out making the decisions and being their own boss.
Employers aren’t that concerned about the applicant’s level of education anymore. They are more interested in past work experience; lost workdays, tardiness record and an employee’s history of work quality.
It’s difficult to find people with good work ethics.
Damn kids. Leading the world in productivity. Why, in my day . . .
Meanwhile, John Edwards, speaking in Des Moines, Iowa suggested that the future of America’s middle class is tied to the future of the labor union:
“The truth of the matter is that in order to grow and strengthen the middle class in this country, we have to grow and strengthen the organized labor movement,” Edwards told the South Central Iowa Federation of Labor’s “Solidarity Fest.” . . . “I want to be the candidate who talks about the economic disparity that still exists in America and then I want to be the president that does something about that economic disparity and builds one America where everybody has a real chance,” Edwards said.
So, what about it? The decline of the labor union certainly has taken place during a period of time where the middle class has, if not declined, at least slowed its advance. As I’ve discussed before, wages have been stagnant over the past 30 or 40 years even while productivity has increased substantially. I can’t say whether the lot of a middle class family is any more tenuous than it was in 1967; but I’m pretty sure the lot of the middle class family at least feels more tenuous. Jobs seem less secure, retirements uncertain, catastrophic health bills could be just around the corner, etc. etc. etc. Part of this might be the same fear media porn that makes us fear a pedophile or murderer on every block, even while crime is decreasing. But, I suspect the financial security of the middle class actually is more tenuous, though perhaps not as much as the hype would suggest.
Are labor unions the answer? I have no idea.
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