For unions, a softer NC - Inroads at an opportune time

In North Carolina the political winds are shifting. For the first time in over 30 years the state voted for a Democrat for president. Kay Hagan, another Democrat, unseated Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole who, a year earlier, was widely considered unbeatable. Democrats also gained a congressional seat, giving them an 8-5 advantage in the Tar Heel delegation.

The failed policies of the Bush administration, high fuel prices and the tanking economy certainly created a perfect storm for Democrats. But the results were as much a reflection of changing demographics and attitudes as they were about "throwing the bums out."

Several social issues that once sparked a visceral reaction from many voters no longer have the same punch. And North Carolina, the least unionized state in the nation, is mellowing toward organized labor.

In May, the State Employees Association of N.C. affiliated with Service Employees International Union, becoming SEIU Local 2008, the largest public employees union in the South.

Then this month, workers at the world's largest hog-processing plant, in the Duplin County town of Tar Heel, voted to unionize.

Five years ago, few people would have predicted that North Carolina would give organized labor two of its biggest victories in a single year.

The response was as remarkable as the victories themselves. The news media basically shrugged. Both events got ample and fair coverage, but there was little editorializing and no big stories. The general public took little notice. Even Smithfield executives struck a conciliatory tone, calling the election in Tar Heel fair and saying they look forward to working together.

During the race between Hagan and Dole, anti-union groups barraged voters with phone calls and mailings warning them that Hagan's election would usher in a new age of unionism that would threaten the economy and workers' independence. Hagan beat Dole by over 8 percentage points, indicating that voters either didn't believe it or, more significantly, didn't care.

FOR LABOR AND FOR NORTH CAROLINA WORKERS, THESE DEVELOPMENTS COULD NOT HAVE COME AT A MORE OPPORTUNE TIME. The unbridled capitalism that began under President Ronald Reagan almost 30 years ago has failed. The middle class has shrunk, while income disparities between rich and poor have grown. The economic crisis today has been caused by mismanaged capital, not greedy workers.

Across the country, people have lost faith in the captains of industry who reaped unprecedented salaries and profits while driving the economy into the ditch. Over the last 30 years, wages (adjusted for inflation) have remained flat or decreased while productivity increased. Those owning and running corporations benefited from this increased productivity, but the workers who provided it did not.

The Obama administration will usher in a new era of checks and balances. Government will more rigorously oversee and regulate the private sector. The incoming leadership views unions as part of the equation, providing protection and a voice for wage earners.

In North Carolina, SEANC affiliated with SEIU after several years of small pay increases, cuts to benefits and a raid on the state employee pension fund. In Tar Heel, the United Food and Commercial Workers, which organized the Smithfield plant, won its battle after 16 years of allegations of unsafe working conditions and bullying by management. Union success at remedying these situations could lead to more organized labor in the state.

One barrier to organizing here, a negative public perception of unions, seems to be falling. Few people are still alive who remember the brutal repression of organizers in the state during the 1920s and '30s. People who have moved here over the past 25 years may not be inherently pro-labor, but they don't harbor the negative stereotypes held by many native Southerners. Finally, the trickle-down economics that took care of business while leaving wage earners to fend for themselves has left the middle-class struggling.

With a pro-labor administration poised to take over in the worst economy in over 50 years, unions have an opportunity to return to a level of influence that they have not had since World War II. To succeed, they will need to grow and deliver on their promises. North Carolina is providing a testing ground on both counts.