By Nancy Long

To hear Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal to allow local governments to establish “employee empowerment” zones where employees could get all the benefits of union membership without paying union dues, one would think he is acknowledging the benefits labor unions have brought to workers throughout the years. Think again.

It was in 1911 that the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City killed 146 locked-in workers and highlighted the unsafe conditions typical of U.S. garment factories in that era. In 2013, several hundred workers died in Dakar, Bangladesh, when the cracked walls of a 4-story factory building gave way. Workers had complained about the cracks, but were told they would lose their jobs if they refused to enter the building. Items recovered from the rubble included tags like Gap and Target.

Workers need protection from injustice, whether the “management” is a corporation, a state or local government body, or the realities of the economy in which they live.

As an active member of the Fair Trade movement, which has worked since the late 1940’s to enable the world’s poorest farmers and crafters to participate in the progress workers in developed countries have enjoyed, I can’t help comparing.

In the absence of opportunities to sell their exquisite lace and embroidered linens and clothing after World War II, Eastern European refugees in England and other Western European countries relied on friends and church groups. The Fair Trade movement grew to include farmers who were cheated by corporate buyers, particularly in the coffee and chocolate supply chains, and artisans lacking local markets for handmade goods.

As the Fair Trade movement grew, its members developed operating principles to protect artisans and farmers. These currently include:

• Create opportunity for artisans and farmers who live in poverty and lack access to long term, well-paying jobs.
• Develop transparent and accountable relationships with artisans and farmers to ensure they have long-term jobs. Buyers and producers work together to solve problems.
• Build capacity: members in developed countries invest time and resources to help producers build their business and improve their communities.
• Pay promptly and fairly, and discuss prices openly so producers understand their costs and earn a fair wage. Fair Trade members may offer advance payment to help cover the cost of production.
• Support safe and empowering working conditions that are healthy and free of discrimination.
• Ensure the rights of children to security, education, and play.
• Cultivate environmental stewardship.
• Respect cultural identity.

Many union contracts and activities address the needs—or union presence has ensured that laws address the needs. And unions have picked up where many employers failed their employees in the areas of safety, economic security, and community development.

Granted, some unions have experienced corruption, as have some governmental bodies. The point is that employers have not become more compassionate or safety-conscious over the years all by themselves; workers need advocates. Strong unions are an important part of true employee empowerment.

Gov. Rauner’s new terminology should not be allowed to confuse anyone.  Employees—especially those affected by minimum wage laws–are empowered by decent wages. People at the lowest rungs of the earnings ladder spend more of their salary increases in their communities.  Sales taxes increase local and state revenue. Jobs become more secure, and more plentiful. That’s real employee empowerment.