The Media, the Economy and Workers
Tuesday, June 24, 2008(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
By Philip Dine
Coverage of
labor or workers' issues in general is all too rare in the media, and discussion
of these topics is even more scarce in the rarified atmosphere of Washington's
top think tanks. So it was gratifying to participate in one such event last
Friday at the Center for American Progress. That a packed and engaged audience
showed up only added to the sense that maybe, just maybe, the belief by editors
and producers around the country that no one cares about unions and
working-class issues needs to be revisited.
Friday’s discussion on “The Media, The Economy and Workers: The Election
Anomaly” revolved around an excellent research paper by David Madland,
director of the center's American Worker Project, titled "Journalists Give
Workers the Business." His basic finding is that with its focus on elites -
including business executives and economists - in covering economic and
work-related issues, the media largely ignore the perspectives and problems of
workers.
As the initial respondent on the panel, I
largely agreed with his report, adding that if anything, the media coverage is
even worse than people think. Not only is it scarce and sensationalistic -
focusing largely on strikes, picket-line violence, corruption and ignoring the
work unions do day-in and day-out to improve safety, train workers and give them
a voice at the workplace - even the language used is unfair. Why, for example,
do we always talk about companies "offering a contract" but unions "demanding"
something else. We could just as easily switch that around and write about
employees "offering" to work for certain conditions but employers "demanding"
that they accept something else.
Where I parted ways
somewhat with Dr. Madland was in asserting that it's not really a matter of the
media focusing on elites at the expense of ordinary people. AFL-CIO President
John Sweeney could be regarded as every bit as much an elite source as a given
business executive or the deputy director of the Republican National Committee -
yet he and other labor leaders are infrequently quoted. Rather, the problem is
that anyone representing unions or workers, from the nation's top labor leaders
to the man or woman on the line, are all too often ignored. I also pointed out
that not only does this unfair coverage limit what the public knows about such
issues -- and potentially affects voting behavior, as Madland's paper found --
but it threatens the very survival of unions because so many people don't know
why labor remains relevant today.
My assertion that
unions themselves play a role in the failure of labor's message to get out
sparked a bit of a debate with panelist William Greider, former journalist and
current author, who put most of the blame on journalists he said function like
"scared rabbits" unwilling to challenge the views of conservative publishers and
news executives. Panelist Steve Trossman, who does a good job as communications
director for SEIU, agreed that labor could do better while also mentioning the
frustrations unions often experience in trying to get journalists interested in
worker-related stories.
After years of covering
countless discussions at Washington's think tanks about every possible aspect of
foreign affairs or domestic politics, it was refreshing to be a small part of a
public conversation about something that affects virtually everyone - the
economic wellbeing and workplace rights of working Americans. The Center for
American Progress merits some praise for doing this, and the fact that
just about every seat was filled, and that the questions and comments stopped
only because of the clock, suggests that there's a healthy appetite for more
such events. And next time around, please remember that local union leaders and
rank-and-file workers are not only welcome but would add quite a bit to the
discussion.
Philip
Dine is a Washington-based journalist,
frequent speaker on labor and politics, and author of the recent State of the
Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and
Regain Political Influence.