Interview with Prof. Catherine Rudder ‘Political Action Is Key to Securing

Catherine Rudder is a professor  and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University.

CWA News:  Not all CWA members are convinced that unions or the labor movement should be involved in politics. Do you think it's important for organized labor to be involved in politics?

Prof. Rudder:  Absolutely. Our economy has been growing since 2001 and corporate profits are at a record level. How has the workforce fared? Has the so-called rising tide lifted all boats? No.
Workers are losing ground while corporations and their executives are taking an even greater share of national income. Over the past 10 years, the top 1% of wage earners have increased their share of the pie by almost 30% while workers barely benefited.
This unfortunate outcome is a direct consequence of public policies enacted by the president and Congress. The only way to change those policies is to get involved in politics.

CWA News:  How does political action relate to the key concerns of union members today: health care, retirement benefits, outsourcing of jobs?

Prof. Rudder:  Each of these items—health care, retirement benefits, and outsourcing of jobs—is driven by government policies. Why can't small businesses band together to offer affordable health insurance to their employees? The law prevents it. Why does the law prevent something that would obviously help people who are without health insurance get it? A large part of the explanation has to do with the strength of the health insurance lobby. You can be sure that they are involved in politics, and they will continue to win if opposing forces do not fight back.
The only way workers will actually receive the health care they deserve and, I might add, have earned, is through the political process. The same principle applies to retirement benefits and job outsourcing. Shipping jobs abroad is the result of a careless approach to free trade. This approach is partly responsible for the decline in workers' incomes over the past three years despite increasing productivity. Workers are increasing the standard of living of those much better off than themselves and are coming up empty handed.

CWA News:  The average American is working harder for less pay. Do our elected officials share some of the blame for this? 

Prof. Rudder:  Five major tax cuts in as many years, skewed toward the well-off, coupled with an anti-labor administration, goes a long way toward answering the question of why workers are losing ground. In a democracy, the majority should be able to demand fairer policies. The force behind the demand, of course, is the exercise of our most fundamental right, the right to vote.
But, one by one, workers can do virtually nothing to change this picture. I like to ask my public policy students the following riddle: Say you are an average person with little money and no political connections, and say you want to change public policy. What can you do? The answer: Organize, organize, organize. Create an organization, work together, support the leadership, vote together, throw the rascals out, support your friends, keep trying.

CWA News:  Given that the majority of voters are workers and not wealthy you would think the policies enacted by elected officials would help workers but in fact we see the exact opposite happening.

Prof. Rudder:  The working people of this country would be much, much worse off if labor unions had not organized, did not provide representation in Washington, and were not in there fighting for workers' rights. But they are out gunned right now. 
What is needed is for everyone who is pro-worker — who believes that workers should receive a fair share of national income, should have decent jobs with benefits, and should be able to retire with dignity — is to work closely together.
Unfortunately, people get deflected by issues like stem cell research. Or they get scared by terrorism, not realizing that both parties will do everything they can to prevent another attack. In the meantime, American jobs get sent overseas, health care declines in availability and quality for all but the very well off, and pensions become an idea of the past, again for just about everyone but high level executives.

CWA News:  How important is this tactic of diverting voters' attention away from their own self interest?

Prof. Rudder:  I can say with some authority that much of politics is a game of keeping workers from attending to their economic interests. If people allow themselves to fall into the trap of being blinded by side issues like gay marriage, their children will not even have the opportunities they themselves have, much less better opportunities. 
If voters were not distracted by fringe issues thrown up by cynical politicians, a lot of those politicians would be out of work and, more important, the U.S. would be a better place to live.
Right now we seem to have a country of, by and for the CEOs and those on Wall Street. It would be a good idea to remember President Lincoln's actual words: "Of, by and for the people." That's everybody.

CWA News:  Let's get back to the labor union movement. How has politics changed since 1953 when union membership reached its peak at 32 percent?

Prof. Rudder:  It would be difficult to overstate the difference between then and now. Historically, if you look at major gains for the working people of this country, you'll see that they come from labor unions' successful involvement in politics. Without the labor movement, the country would not have Medicare for those over 65, unemployment compensation, the minimum wage, disability benefits, wage and hour laws — you name it. If the policy helps workers, the unions have been indispensable to making it happen.
Union membership has experienced a gradual but steep decline. As the country has shifted to a post-industrial, information economy, the jobs traditionally organized by labor unions have evaporated. At the same time, corporations have redoubled their opposition to labor organizing and have been further emboldened by the federal government to engage in anti-union practices.
Through the work of groups like the Right to Work Committee, corporations work to undermine support for unions in the courts, among the American public and even among certain rank-and-file members. Simultaneously, businesses spend millions of dollars supporting candidates for elective office who are anti-labor. Right now, despite the corporate rhetoric about "labor union bosses," the situation is more akin to David (the unions) versus Goliath (the corporations).

CWA News:  Since money is so important and corporate interests have the deep pockets and big bucks, how can labor make a difference?

Prof. Rudder:  Working people vastly outnumber corporate executives. And labor unions, as I have mentioned, are a formidable force because they have the structures in place necessary to raise campaign funds and organize voters. Union members can ring doorbells, talk with their neighbors, staff phone banks, drive folks to the polls, and contribute to labor-friendly candidates.
The key is to wake up the American people. The question should be put to every citizen, what kind of country do you want to live in? Fortunately, the answer to that question is on the side that labor has traditionally championed: a just, fair and decent society for all. But, as I've said, merely wanting it doesn't make it so. Concerted action is needed.

Rudder's most recent publication is Smoking and Politics: Bureaucracy Centered Policymaking, sixth edition, co-authored with A. Lee Fritschler.