The following column by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Edwin D. Hill appeared in today's edition of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

WNYLaborToday.com is reprinting the column in its entirety:

The recent AFL-CIO Convention in Pittsburgh focused heavily on recruiting young workers into the Labor Movement.  And one thing workers under 35 deserve is the truth.  The truth is not pretty.

A recent survey conducted for the AFL-CIO found that unemployment for people under 35 has risen sharply since 1999.  Only half say they are more hopeful than worried about their economic future, compared to 75 percent who felt that way a decade ago.  One in three still lives at home, unable to enter the housing market.

But maybe the worst thing facing this generation is the attitudes of many employers.  Today's young people are discouraged from working together to achieve a higher standard of living.  They are told not to expect "outdated" concepts like decent health insurance or a pension plan much beyond an inadequate 401(k) account.  The talking points are familiar: they've been spread by the think tanks and mouthpieces of the conservative establishment.

A perfect example is the quote from Brett McMahon, a spokesman for the Associated Builders and Contractors, in a September 20th Post-Gazette story ("AFL-CIO Aims To Bring Young People Into Unions").  He warned that Unions often demand silly work rules, such as requiring licensed electricians to plug in extension cords.

As the former business manager of my Electricians' Union Local in Beaver, Pa., I can say that there has never been a work rule like that in my lifetime.  In fact, our Union has adopted a Code of Excellence that puts in writing our commitment to meeting the needs of customers.

Mr. McMahon also suggested that Unions are interested in young workers only to provide more resources for "underfunded" pension plans.

Our Union's pensions are funded at levels well above those required by the federal government. And they are defined-benefit plans where pooled funds provide a predictable level of payments, as opposed to 401(k) plans where employees assume all the risk and which have been the vehicles of so many dashed retirement hopes over the past two years.

Those "underfunded" plans have been of direct benefit to Pittsburgh.  During the recent AFL-CIO convention, I could see four residential projects funded by my Union's plan and its partners: the Cork Factory Apartments, the North Shore Apartments, the Cultural Trust Apartments and the H.J., Heinz Lofts.  Together, these projects represent $100 million in investments, and they provided work for hundreds of local residents.

The Labor Movement has had its share of problems, and one of the biggest has been our slowness in responding to the misrepresentations of those who would deny all workers, young and old alike, the opportunities available to previous generations.