Union members tend to enjoy better wages and benefits than their peers who are not protected by labor agreements.

So why does union membership continue to decline? Union members accounted for 14 percent of all workers in 2006, down from 27.5 percent 13 years prior.

Few local businesses employ union workers outside of public service. Union leaders have at times refused to make concessions that would allow employers to remain competitive. This obstinateness has prompted some employers to close doors.

A year ago, union jobs at Philips Products in Selinsgrove went south. Other union jobs have gone overseas. Regardless, they went places where workers were willing to punch a clock without the perceived protection of labor membership.

So has the age of labor passed?

Perhaps not.

A union protest in Selinsgrove may be illustrative. Representatives of the Mid-Atlantic Laborers Association protested outside Selinsgrove Elementary School this week. Among their complaints, a contractor hired by the Selinsgrove Area School District has been cited by the Occupational and Safety Health Administration for having unsafe workplace conditions.

The federal government has assumed the role of ensuring that work sites are safe. The presence of unions would be superfluous if vigilance of the federal agency were sufficient.

OSHA’s record is far from spotless, and there is growing evidence that workplace safety might be an issue that union leaders can hang their hard hats on.

Six laborers have died in industrial accidents in the Valley in the past year — not including commercial truck drivers killed in traffic crashes.

Unsafe working conditions are unacceptable, and unions can fill the void if the federal government is unwilling to invest needed funds so adequate inspections take place before tragedy strikes.

At one time, labor organizations were the staunchest defenders of workers’ rights. Reclaiming that role could help ensure the survival of both the unions and more of the workers.