http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/business/the-shrinking-american-labor-union.html?ref=business&_r=0
24.2%: private sector union membership rate, 1973
6.6%: private sector union membership rate, 2014
“The causes of falling union participation are hard to pinpoint but may be attributed to several factors, including the pressures of global trade, technological change, the shift away from domestic manufacturing and a tougher stance against unions from government and corporate leaders.”
6 comments:
The article also mentions that it's no accident that the drop in union membership has occurred as the incomes of many working Americans have stagnated. The article also mentions that the decline in the unions may be a huge factor explaining what has happened to middle-class wages.
As we become and even more solidly service and knowledge powered market, I doubt that middle class wages will rise because the middle class in the United States is just not educated enough yet. Unions primarily exist in the manufacturing and production industries and those are very likely not going to grow soon, and so unions will continue to shrink.
Do you think that labor unions are still effective in the United States? There was a time in which they were paramount in establishing safe working conditions and fair wages, but now there are many laws to represent workers. Ohio had the intriguing case of Senate Bill 5 a few years back. How do you feel that labor unions should be integrated in the modern workplace?
I don't think labor unions have much of a place in the modern workplace of today. Intense globalization, capital advancement, labor mobility and high unemployment rates have led to decline in the strength of unions practically.
As a Michigander by residence, this article is interesting, considering the massive fight the state and local governments have had with the unions in the past several years, especially in light of the Detroit municipal bankruptcy. The UAW has had its membership collapse in recent years, and many other unions in the state are facing similarly dismal numbers. A sizable portion of those polled in a statewide poll felt that the unions were no longer relevant to employees in the state as they had become both political and bureaucratic entities that prevented progress. Most recently, the labor union movement sponsored Propositions 2 and 6, one of which was for an unrelated bridge proposal but the support brought with it political capital from the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, and the other being a prevention on rescinding collective bargaining rights. Both proposals were lost and in political retribution, the right faction controlled GOP passed right to work in the state. Unless the unions shift focus, they may face an existential crisis.
There are economies that have had rise in labor union participation. I think the shrinking rates in the States reflects the preferences of people and the United States' value of labor union participation has decreased since 1973.
Post a Comment