NPR: Labor Unions Losing Their Way?

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97960229

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News & Notes , December 8, 2008 · The financial crisis facing America's Big Three auto companies has spotlighted the role of the United Auto Workers Union.

Many think that the wages and benefits of union workers have dragged down business and profits. Author Bill Fletcher, a longtime advocate of the AFL-CIO, disagrees with that point of view.

He's the co-founder of the Center for Labor Renewal and co-author of the book Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path Toward Social Justice.

He tells Farai Chideya why many unions have lost their way in the global economy.