Salute to Life Science Workers on Labor Day

Salute to Laborers on Labor Day

Labor Day, created by the labor movement in the late 19^th century, pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It became a federal holiday in 1894. Today it’s typically the marking of the end of summer, the beginning of the school year and a good excuse to have one more barbecue.

Today’s issue of the San Jose Mercury News reports on its front page that “Tide may be turning for working-class Americans.” Not just working but middle class workers have seen stagnation in their real wages as income inequality grows worse. Life science professionals have less job security versus not-too-distant past or ability to find a new position in event of layoffs due to cost saving campaigns and company M&A.

Union membership has decreased from 16.8 percent 30 years ago to a low of 6.6 percent currently. There had been increases in union membership among public sector workers at the same time the manufacturing sector declined in the U.S. The rate of unionization of public sector workers now stands at 35.7 percent but is declining with “right to work” laws in Michigan and Wisconsin. You might remember reading about Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s aggressive campaign and success to weaken unions in his state with the support of large infusions of out-of-state money.

Why the hope for a changing tide?—President Obama has issued pro-employee executive orders and a recent Gallup poll shows rising support for unions, although at a much lower rate than 40 years ago. Presidential candidates, mainly Democrats but some Republicans, are talking about addressing wage stagnation and income inequality.

Larry Summers — the former Treasury secretary known as a pillar of the Wall Street-friendly wing of the Democratic Party in the past—now champions stronger unions and more workers’ rights. This change of heart is based on his current position that union power is a central component of real wage growth and that a total recovery from the terrible recession of 2008-2009 won’t occur with just an increase in jobs but also requires a rise in wages.

Some of the extremely wealthy who hold such a disproportionate share of the riches may be recognizing that income equality is a threat to them as well. It is common to hear the current top “one percent” now referred to as “Robber Barons,” a term associated with the filthy rich of the last century, and more recently the “Sultans of Silicon Valley.” If they take a lesson from past history, they would recognize that the closing of the gap between the wealthiest and poorest typically occurs through revolution, higher wages or wars.

See additional data on status of American workers at http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/32257-labor-day-2015-uncertain-times-for-american-workers

Bay Area Life Science Events Week of Sept. 7

• Bio2Device Group, Tuesday Evening, Sept. 8, 2015; Topic: “The Dirt on Being Clean,” Speaker: Colleen Cutcliffe, Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder, Whole Biome
• JLABS, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015; Topic:”Meet with …Astellas Venture Management;” AVM Participating Representatives:Sakae Asanuma MBA, CFA | President & CEO, Astellas Venture Management; Takashi Futami | Associate Investment Director, Astellas Venture Management; Taro Masunaga, Ph.D. | Senior Investment Director, Astellas Venture Management; Hideaki Matsuoka, Ph.D. | Associate Investment Director, Astellas Venture Management; Nobuaki Shindoh, Ph.D. | Associate Investment Director, Astellas Venture Managemen
• RAPS, Thursday Evening, Sept. 10, 2015; Event: San Jose Career Networking Fair
• WIB-San Francisco Bay YWIB, Saturday Afternoon, Sept. 12, 2015; Event: WIB-San Francisco Bay Area YWIB Visits the Buck Institute for Research on Aging

You can download details for the above events in a complete list of upcoming events by right clicking on Audreys Picks September 7, 2015.

Note that I am not able to send my blog and lists directly to you as I did for over 10 years. You can access them by reading my weekly blog and downloading my lists at https://audreysnetwork.wordpress.com/ You can also access via my website http://www.audreysnetwork.com.

Audrey