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Big Labor's globalized workforce exerts its influence

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    Doug McKelway reports from Washington

  • Duration 2:18
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On their investigation.

Union influence may be shrinking across the country and yet is power is still significant.

Shipping in the gulf and the northeast nearly ground to a standstill.

With the possible dock workers -- Correspondent -- Callaway looks at unions within the changing globalized work for.

It's.

A thirty day contract extension agreed to by the international longshoreman association shippers and port operators last Friday.

Temporarily -- a -- of fourteen ports from Massachusetts to Texas.

But 141000 long -- and still find their jobs threatened by automation.

Today it takes just one longshoreman do the work of three a generation ago.

We've seen it.

In several of the heavy industries in America's history.

Where efficiency and new productivity.

Machines are coming to play and people get people get displaced by -- -- a difficult thing.

But it's one of the things that work to maintain cost in competitiveness in the global marketplace we've got to pay attention to.

-- union membership in the US has declined to just eleven point 8% of the workforce.

President Obama finds itself be holding more than ever to unions.

They contributed heavily in manpower and money to his reelection he -- return -- made a point of supporting them.

You only have to look.

To Michigan where workers were instrumental in reviving the auto industry to see how unions have helped build not just stronger middle class but a stronger America.

A day after that visit Michigan -- union stronghold became the 24 state to pass a right to work law.

Hampered in the states -- right to work momentum and in Washington by divided congress and abroad by low cost competition the president's options to reward happens.

And limited there are things that the president can do.

And will be expecting that leadership.

From President Obama -- -- executive orders and federal regulations more than 5700 -- -- have been posted in the last ninety days alone.

But there's another option -- the way to do it is that -- -- from the union's perspective is to raise those workers.

Pay around the around the world US unions are trying to do just -- laying the ground work is Richard Trumka recently said.

To protect workers from quote Detroit to war as to Shanghai to Bogota.

Getting governments and multinational corporations to agree is another matter -- Doug thank you.

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