The Media, the Economy and Workers

(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.