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Labor Unions What do you think of when you hear the phrase labor unions? Most
people associate a negative connotation with labor unions. They think that labor
unions are the only cause of strikes and work stoppages. Most think that people
in unions are greedy and will do anything to get more money. Others swear by
their unions, saying that their employers would take advantage of them if they
didn’t organize their unions. However as we prepare to enter the new millennium,
labor unions are decreasing in size. Let’s look at some of reasons. First, the
numbers are unmistakable. At the end of 1997, when the most recent count was
made, only 14.1% of workers belonged to unions, the lowest percentage since 1936
(Gross 23).
This is a dramatic decrease from when unions were at their height at
the end of World War II when 35.3% of Americans were in unions (Galenson 13).
One cause of this fall of union membership is the decline of manufacturing in
America and the transfer of much manufacturing work over seas (Gross 24).
Because of advances in technology and labor saving innovations, fewer people are
required to make steel and assembler automobiles. As a result, only 16.1% of
U.S. workers now work in factories, down from 22.8% twenty years ago (Aronwitz
2). There has also been a decrease in size of the large corporations, which in
the past usually signed industry-wide contracts to produce a particular item.
The latest figures show that the 800 largest firms employed 17% of the total
workforce, down from 25.7% twenty years ago (Aronwitz 3). Many of these
companies have their work done abroad. Nike does not make a single shoe in the
United States and many insurance companies are having paperwork processed over
seas (Hacker 45). At home corporate jobs are frequently assigned to temporary
workers, who are often classified as independent contractors and are not very
likely to join unions. Indeed, there are fewer long-term jobs, something union
seniority could once guarantee.
Last year, among men aged forty to forty-five,
only 39.1% had worked ten or more years at their current job, compared with 51.1
percent in 1983 (Galenson 27). So, one might ask, what caused this to happen? At
some point in the 1980s, the balance of power shifted against labor unions. Some
say the defining moment was in 1981, when then-U.S. president Ronald Reagan
forced an end to the bitter air traffic controllers' strike. Others point to the
1985 victory of then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher over striking coal
miners (Gross 239). Whatever the reason, unions are trying to make a comeback.
There are several strategies that unions have devised to return to their former
glory. Unions have adopted a more lenient attitude towards management, reducing
the number of strikes to record lows in the 1980s and early 90s, and attempting
to negotiate contracts providing job security for members (Gross 278). Unions
have also placed greater emphasis on organizing drives for new members. Although
unions have been very successful in organizing government employees, they have
been less successful with recruiting office workers in the rapidly expanding
services sector.
However, during the last two decades, the wage advantage for
unionized workers with private jobs has fallen by 44.1 percent, although the
public sector has increased by 9.5 percent (Maguire 20). Currently, 41.9% of
union members are from the public sector. Among the most strongly unionized
occupations are firefighters (71.6%), flight attendants (69.4%), and high school
teachers (56.1%). Only 28.6 percent of coal miners belong to unions and only
19.5% of truck drivers (Hacker 47). Despite all of the downsides of unions they
do have their benefits. Here are a few examples of salaries secured through
collective bargaining by highly trained professionals: Pilots with only fifteen
years of service at Northwest, American, United, and US Airways now earn on
average over $175,000 a year. Professors at New York City University can now get
as much as $101,655 for twenty-eight weeks of teaching. Under the current
National Basketball Association contract, first year players—some of them right
out of high school—will start at $300,000 (Hacker 48).
The recent NBA lockout
has shaped many peoples’ opinions on labor unions. Most people, myself included,
thought that it was ridiculous for these people to be having a labor dispute.
The players are already making an insane amount of money and the owners are
millionaires themselves looking to add to their pocketbooks also. The real
losers in this battle are the fans who love the game. They cannot see their
favorite players in action because of this dispute. This just goes to show you
that labor markets affect us in our everyday lives. Another way labor unions can
affect our lives is when they decide to strike. This can effect hundreds, even
thousands of workers in the General Motors strike in 1998. In the case with the
automobile industry, many factories are involved in the production of their
cars. If even one of these factories strikes then the other factories must also
shut down.
This chain reaction can render thousands of workers jobless in just a
few weeks. The union members know that there is always a potential risk of
striking as accept as part of their job. What role will unions play in the
future? Will they ever return to former glory? Nobody knows for sure. Economists
have mixed feeling on this matter. Some say that the workers of the twenty-first
century will demand a return to the unions and organize in record numbers.
Others say that the current trend will prevail and almost wipeout unions
completely until there are only a handful of them remaining. My opinion is that
unions will stick around for as long as people are working. They will be there
to protect the rights of the individual worker and make sure that he or she is
treated fairly.
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