Can’t find workers in Iowa? Try respect and dignity - The Gazette

A metal shop in Oskaloosa in 2017. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette)

We can’t find workers?

The United States Census Bureau reported in November of 2020 that nearly one-fourth of the manufacturing workforce is 55 or older. A recent survey found that retaining and attracting quality workers is one of the top challenges facing the manufacturing industry. The National Association of Manufacturers states that one contributing factor in the manufacturing labor shortage is the aging and gradual retirement of baby boomers.

I think there is more to it than that. While the retirement of baby boomers is certainly relevant in this argument we must go deeper to understand why younger workers are reluctant to accept these jobs.

Younger workers have witnessed companies and politicians turn their backs on their working parents through the years by supporting the enactment of terrible labor laws that benefit only the companies. They’ve watched their parents lose their longtime jobs to overseas manufacturing. They’ve seen their parents’ retirement plans stripped down or eliminated. They’ve witnessed the creation of multi-tiered pay systems that provide less starting pay for new hires than their predecessors, thus making it virtually impossible to ever reach the pay level of their parents.

If manufacturers want young American workers to apply at their factories, they should act like it by practicing equality in their workplace. They should realize that they no longer hold the advantage of having hundreds of workers waiting in line for their jobs.

These workers have witnessed a country that enjoyed all-time records in productivity while worker pay was stagnant. They have witnessed CEO compensation rise to levels 100, 200, and even 300 times that of factory workers. Here in Iowa they have witnessed their own Republican controlled legislature gut collective bargaining for public sector employees, strip workers compensation; attack unemployment benefits and essentially lower the minimum wage for all workers. None of this sends out the vibe that we respect and appreciate workers and want them to stay in this state.

For many years we told kids that the only way they could reach the middle or upper classes would be to have a higher education. Well folks, not every kid graduating high school is going to be a doctor. As parents we push these kids into college in hope that they have a better life than we had. In return, many of them do not make it through college and also pick up a large college loan debt that takes years to pay off. We have stripped shop class out of many schools thus never truly offering our kids the ability to try different trades such as welding ,carpentry , mechanics, and electrical to mention just a few.

Many opportunities in the skilled trades can be earned through participation in union apprenticeship programs. Unfortunately, too many kids graduate high school without being told about these opportunities in some of the state’s best jobs.

I have an idea: Let’s make joining a union easier so workers can negotiate their pay and benefits instead of begging for them. Let’s put shop classes back in schools.

Yes, elected officials in Des Moines, you will need to actually fund education adequately. You’ll have to eliminate some of those corporate tax breaks you seem to hand out every session

If we want people to stay in our state and work in our factories, we need to start treating workers with respect and dignity.

Let me conclude by saying that all work has dignity. It’s clear that those at the top have done a good job of convincing Iowans making $30 an hour that others who are merely asking for $15 an hour are unworthy, while they themselves continue to take it all.

Rick Moyle is executive director of the Hawkeye Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

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Can’t find workers in Iowa? Try respect and dignity - The Gazette
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