The Decline of Unions in America - Essay Example

What are the main arguments used to explain the prominence and the decline of unions in America? How has the decline of unions affected its members as well as the larger society? There are several factors that affect the distribution and level of earnings and employment, for instance people with better work experience education and training generally score higher on earnings scale. Investment, savings and technology can also affect real earnings and productivity. Also, changes in consumer purchasing behavior also influences the workers demand for different skills. But the manufacturing sector of the economy has seen considerable involvement of labor unions in worker’s activities. But recent trends show a decline in union membership due to many factors. Labor unions legally represent the workers of most industries of the United States. Their main concern is with bargaining the benefits, salaries, work conditions and legal representation of their workers in case of disputes. The parties that stand against each other is the management versus the union. Throughout the US history, both sides have engaged in bitter arguments both legal and illegal. There are different classes of unions, some are big and some are smaller. The bigger unions usually deal with the lobbying activities. They are also the front-runners at federal and state level. It has been observed from the history of union activities that organized labor normally supports candidates from Democratic Party. The election of 1932 saw Franklin D. Roosevelt strongly supported by the labor unions (Holley et al. 82). The president promised the nation to end the economic depression via labor legislation. Over the time, many legislations have been passed regarding labor laws and unions. But there is also a hierarchy among unions. The bigger organizations shield smaller unions. For instance there are two recognized entities like AFL-CIO and Change to Win Federation. Both of these organizations act as protective entities for workers both in Canada and the United States. Both of them are also politically active. Among the first acts of Roosevelt administration included encouraging Congress to pass the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) (Holley et al. 82). It was a legislation that supported business associations, to support fare competition, standardized pricing and other commerce activity. The mid-19th century saw the formation of labor unions reacting to the economic and social impact brought by Industrial Revolution. The year 2013 saw 14.5 million members in the United States (“Union Members” 2014). This is a reduction from 17.7 million members in 1983, an index called the total labor union density was recorded at 11.3%, which is also a reduction from 20.1% almost 30 years back (“Union Members” 2014). The decline raises questions about the performance and impact of labor unions on worker’s lives. From statistics it is obvious that the unions are getting weaker and using their legal footing the 21st century America. It is not because people hate these unions, it is because people are simply not interested or they do not care anymore (Yeselson, 2014). It is probably because in the past the labor unions were proactive and they communicated with the public and workers more effectively. History also tells that not all negotiations between management and unions were peaceful. For instance in 1892, one of the most violent confrontation occurred at the Homestead Works (Skurzynski 35). The union employees demanded an increase in their wages. But Carnegie and Frick used their wages. They displayed a message at the mail; the non-union members will be given preference in an attempt to give more power to the minority. The message also accompanied an announcement that the mill will shut down on July 1 and was reopened on July 6 only for nonunion members (Skurzynski 35). In reaction the labor union staged a protest. The Dawn of July 6 saw two barges being towed upriver towards the Homestead Works (Skurzynski 35). These barges contain 300 Pinkerton Detective Agency employees. The mill owners promised them a $15 a week to work at the mill (Skurzynski 35). But when the strikers saw these unemployed laborers making way towards the middle they woke up the whole town. Men women and children rushed towards the middle carrying rocks and sticks, some of them even had guns. Both sides were armed and they opened fire at each other. The reason why such unrest built up was because the commercial class was accumulating more wealth than they needed and this caused a new class of laborers to emerge. For the wage laborers there was “no hope of attaining the status of either master craftsman (which implied ownership of one’s own shop) or even journeyman (which did not), factory workers grew in number – and, many argued shame and degradation” (Vallas et al. 71). The impact of such incidences was evident on later legislations on economic and labor activities. For instance NIRA did not include any compulsion for employers to bargain with the unions. The National Labor Board (NLB) was not in a position to enforce its laws as the law was not effective in protecting employees’ rights for collective bargaining (Holley et al. 84). The 1934 Congress passed a joint resolution to put pressure on the president for establishing a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that would investigate any violations under this section 7, NIRA (Holley et al. 84). The job of such legislation was also to conduct timely elections for determining if the employees wanted independent union representation (Holley et al. 84). But like the previous legislations, the real problem was not the passing of the law but its enforcement. The National Labor Relations Act 1935 (NLRA) is a fundamental legislation that governs the relations between private sector employers and labor unions (Mayer, 2004). These employers are engaged in interstate commerce. The NLRA does not cover managers, supervisors, domestic servants, agricultural laborers and others (Mayer 2004). Similarly a different federal law takes care of airlines, federal employees and railroads. The impact of labor unions on the labor earnings is important to study. For instance the question needs to be answered have unions collectively protected the rights of laborers? Many studies have tried to gauge the wage differential between nonunion and union workers. Generally speaking there are more studies that support the notion that union workers are in within a range of 10 to 30% higher than nonunion labor (Mayer 2004). There is also evidence that the wage premium of union workers is declining in recent years for instance the studies concluded that among wage workers the union wage differential during late 1970s was around 21 to 23% but by the year 2001 a research indicated the differential fell to 14% (Mayer 2004). The more important thing to answer is have union workers lost their power? The impact of the unions on laborers is also in terms of perks. For instance fringe benefits like health insurance, pension plans and paid sick leave also account for workers benefits. Studies suggest that union workers get better fringe benefits than nonunion workers therefore the money tree differential stated above might be a little understated because of non-inclusion of such perks.  Despite such benefits and monitor compensation the membership of unions is declining. But there cannot be a single reason to point at that would explain this downfall in memberships. Labor specialist have suggested many reasons for the decline. For instance new legislations weakened the power of unions in Indiana, Wisconsin and many other states (Greenhouse, 2013). Another reason for the decline is massive expansion by giant companies like Volkswagen and Boeing in nonunion states. Another factor that contributes to power decline is massive explosion of restaurants and retail industry all through the United States (Greenhouse, 2013). The labor unions have almost nothing to do with this sector of industry. Very recently the reelection of President Obama also so many labor unions boasting of their political success, again supporting the Democrat. The Bureau on the other hand announced figures that were disappointing for organized labor. The year 2013 saw the private sector workers falling to only 6.6% from 6.9% in 2011. A general question arises whether the private sector unions are sinking into oblivion. During the 1950s the private sector union membership was at its height is at around 35% (Greenhouse, 2013). The survey that suggested this drop in union membership categorized into two groups where the unions had been strong, manufacturing workers and local government employees (Greenhouse, 2013). The introduction of laws in states like Indiana and Wisconsin prohibit obligating on employees to pay union fees. After this enactment of law Wisconsin saw a 13% drop while Indiana sought 18%, which was a record high drop in one year. The labor economist Barry T. Hirsch at Georgia State University suggested in an analysis that the number of government employees in Wisconsin belonged to a union dropped by 48,000 last year to 139,000 from 187,000 (Greenhouse, 2013). As soon as the Republican-led legislature weakened the unions bargaining rights workers started to quit their memberships. The power of labor unions have seen the rise and fall in the US history because of many factors. It is not always a single factor that determines their failure or success. If the labor unions are seeing a drop in their membership it is not because they are becoming ineffective. The legislations are becoming more stringent for their activities. It is also true that the market trend is shifting towards non-labor economic activity. Fordism is dead, restaurants, entrepreneurship and lean businesses are blooming all across the US. There is almost insignificant relevance of labor unions in such small businesses. References Holley, William H., Kenneth M. Jennings, and Roger Wolter. The Labor Relations Process. 10th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Greenhouse, Steven. "Share of the Work Force in a Union Falls to a 97-Year Low, 11.3%."The New York Times. N.p., 23 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. . Mayer, Gerald. "Union Membership Trends in the United States." Congressional Research Service (2004). Cornell University ILR School. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. . Skurzynski, Gloria. Sweat and Blood: A History of U.S. Labor Unions. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2008. Print. Union Members. "Union Members Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. . Vallas, Steven P., William Finlay, and Amy S. Wharton. The Sociology of Work: Structures and Inequalities. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print. Yeselson, Richard. "Not With a Bang, But a Whimper: The Long, Slow Death Spiral of America’s Labor Movement." New Republic. N.p., 6 June 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. . Read More