Decline of Union Membership

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Organized labor has seen a long and ever changing history in the United States. What began as minimal organized labor movement catapulted into astronomical union membership rates as the nation grew and developed. The intense power unions possessed only lasted so long and in the years since 1970, union membership in the United States has collapsed. This paper will examine the most significant reasons for the decline in membership. In brief, organizational redesigns, the development of technology and substantial public policy changes have all contributed to the drop in affiliation rates. In addition, policy suggestions will be provided in an attempt to support the continuation of the trend. Much of the research regarding this topic refers to unions consisting of unskilled labor however it is obvious that most members are individuals who are highly trained in a specific trade. Because of this, the terms unskilled labor and trade labor will be used interchangeably. Union affiliation was first seen in the 1600’s when the roots of the United States were just being planted with skilled trade groups such as artisans, laborers, goldsmiths and printers. Over the next two hundred years, unions developed their desires for higher wages through the use of strikes and protests. The nation’s progress spurred the need for more labor and so began the Industrial Revolution. During the Revolution, many union members began to witness the power that employers had and as a result decided to make use of the concept of power in numbers. The National Labor Union formed in 1866 and worked to persuade congress to set a Federal eight-hour workday, which applied to government employees (Miller). Many large unions formed following in the NLU’s footsteps and uni... ... middle of paper ... ... R. G, and Smith, R.G. 2011. Modern Labor Economics: Theory and Public Policy. 11th ed. Prentice Hall. MacLaury, J. 1998. “A Brief History: The Department of Labor.” The United States Department of Labor. Mayer, G. 2004. Union Membership Trends in the United States. Cornell University. ILR School. Miller, D. 2001. “The Labor Union Movement in America.” Social Studies Help Center. http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Eco_Unionization.htm. Rosenfeld, J. 2010. Little Labor: How Union Decline is Changing American Landscape. Pathways: A Magazine on Poverty, Inequality and Social Policy. Thompson, D. 2012. Who Killed American Unions? The Atlantic Magazine. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/06/who-killed-american-unions/258239/. June 7. Wallerstein, M. & Western, B. 2000. Unions in Decline? What Has Changed and Why? Annual Review of Political Science. 3: 355-377.

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