Congress Hotel strike shows how union representation can leave workers worse off

by Paul Kersey The 10-year strike by housekeepers at the Congress Hotel was not actually the longest in U.S. history. Teamsters at Diamond Walnuts in California staged a walkout that lasted 14 years before agreeing to a contract. But the length of the strike and the sad way the Congress Hotel strike ended demolishes a fond...

by Paul Kersey

The 10-year strike by housekeepers at the Congress Hotel was not actually the longest in U.S. history. Teamsters at Diamond Walnuts in California staged a walkout that lasted 14 years before agreeing to a contract.

But the length of the strike and the sad way the Congress Hotel strike ended demolishes a fond union myth – that it is fair to force all workers to pay dues to a union because all workers benefit from union representation.

The strike began in June of 2003, and late on Wednesday, May 29, Local 1 of UNITE-HERE agreed to return to work unconditionally. The offer may turn out to be entirely symbolic. The hotel has had replacement staff in place nearly the entire time, and many of the old employees have found new jobs. If any UNITE-HERE members actually do return to their jobs, it will be on the terms that were in place in 2003.

After a 10-year strike rank-and-file workers got squat.

That doesn’t quite fit the union myth that union representation is always best for workers.

The debate over a Right-to-Work law, under which workers cannot be forced to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs, is going to come to Illinois before too long. The state is slowly being encircled by worker freedom: Iowa has had Right to Work for decades. Michigan and Indiana passed their versions last year.  Wisconsin has a similar rule for most government workers.  Missouri is flirting with a Right-to-Work law of its own.

And when that day arrives, we can expect that union officials will protest that it wouldn’t be fair because workers will be able to benefit from having union without paying for it.  That might hold water if you could be certain that all workers benefit from union representation.  But as the saga of the Congress Hotel demonstrates, unions can miscalculate, and when they do workers can get hurt. Big time.

If you were a Congress Hotel worker, how would you feel about the dues you paid to a union that waged a 10-year strike and got nothing to show for it?

And this is only one of many ways that unionized workers can come out behind. Rigid seniority and worker classifications, layoffs and radical union politics can all leave workers worse off. Are unions looking out for workers?  Are they doing their jobs well?  The best people to figure that out are workers themselves.  Right-to-Work simply lets workers decide if the union has earned their support.  We should let workers decide for themselves – as individuals.