Things We
Had When New York
Was a Union Town
Written by Mark Naison to
The New York Times, December 2005.
To the Editor:
One of the most disturbing things about the public discourse on
the Transit Strike is that the media, elected officials, and many
citizens are predisposed to see the Union as a disruptive force
and the MTA as acting in the public interest. Many people would
not be upset in the least to see the TWU broken, or at least dramatically
weakened, and think that if the TWA and the city could determine
wages, pensions and working conditions without union interference,
the city would be a better place.
I think this view of unions is extremely shortsighted, especially
in the light of New York City’s history. Is New York a better
city now than it was 50 years ago, when more than half the city's
work force was unionized? Does it have better schools, public services,
and better cultural and recreational opportunities for its poor
and working class residents?
Based on my own research in the Bronx African American History Project
and the material offered in Josh Freeman’s book “Working
Class New York” the answer to this question is a resounding
NO! Here are some of features of New York life in the 40’s
and 50’s, which the city's unions fought for which are no
longer with us today.
1. Supervised recreation programs in every public elementary
school in the city from 3-5 PM and 7-9 PM, which included sports,
arts and crafts and music. These programs were free and open any
young person whowalked through the door.
2. First rate music programs in every public junior high
school in the city featuring free instruction for students in bands,orchestras
and music classes. Students in those classes could take home musical
instruments to practice
3. Recreation supervisors, as well as cleaners, in every
public park in the city, including neighborhood vest pocket parks,
who organized games and leagues and prevented fights.
4. A public housing program that constructed tens thousands
of units of low and moderate income housing throughout the city
and staffed these with housing police, ground crews and recreation
staffs to make sure the projects were safe, clean and well policed
5. Free tuition at the city university, at the community
college, college and graduate levels, for all students who met the
admissions standards
6. Parks department policies which made sure that parks
in the outer boroughs were kept as clean and environmentally sound
as Central Park or parks in wealthy neighborhoods
7. Free admission at all the city’s major zoos and
museums.
These policies, all of which were eliminated during the 1970’s,
meant that children in poor and working class communities had access
to recreational cultural and educational opportunities which are
today only available to the children of the rich
These programs were not there because of the foresight and compassion
of the city’s business leadership. They were there because
unions fought for them and demanded that elected officials they
supported fund them
This is not to say that unions are right in every dispute, or that
they are immune from arrogance, greed and corruption. But it should
give pause to those who think that our lives would be better in
a union free environment
Let me leave you with some numbers. In the early 1950’s when
33% of the American work force was unionized, the United States
had the smallest wealth gap (between the top and bottom 20 percent
of its population) of any advanced nation in the world. Now, when
13% of our workforce is unionized, we have the largest.
Is this progress? Let’s think long and hard before we blame
unions for city's and the nation’s economic problems.
—Mark Naison
—New York, NY
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