The Power of the Union in America
As the number of people who are registered with a particular trade union continues to decline, a new reality has been recently defined in which the role of unions in the US is decreasing. The result of the trend is that, in contrast to how it was in the past, most employees no longer have the same level of negotiating power they did in the past as the nation is rapidly moving away from the right-to-work perception. The trend has mostly been caused by the direct influence of politicians, particularly the democratic party, the fragile economic condition, and the role performed by large enterprises in fostering a more competitive atmosphere for workers. It is thus noted that the mindset is quickly changing from the right-to-work to establishing a more competitive economy where business will thrive. The important trend in the future will, therefore, involve assessing the effect of declining power in the context of improving the economy as it has been predicted by economic analysis.
Key Words:
Economy, union, power, workers, systems, organization, wage
Recent Findings on Union Membership in the US
Recent findings by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development indicate that the US is consistently being ranked almost at the bottom among the developed countries in terms of union membership. It is reported that about 10 percent of the working population in the US is part of a union according to research done in 2013 (Gebelhoff, 2016). It implies that only a fraction of the US population is organized and in a position to negotiate their wages and benefits to suit the needs of the employees. The relevance of the subject is from the understanding that other free-market economies are doing well with the example of Scandinavian countries reported to have a union membership that is estimated at around 70 percent (Levs, 2012). Following the recent decline in the number of workers who are ascribed to a union, it is affirmed that the power of the union in the US has adversely been affected by the political and economic situations in the country.
Reasons for the Decline in Union Power
One of the primary reasons for the decline in the power of the union is the emergence of big business that seeks to create a more competitive environment for business people to operate. Antiunion campaigns have in the recent past been driven by big national organizations and money with the driving force being the desire for free trade, lowered minimum wage and the protection from seeking paid sick leave (Gebelhoff, 2016). A senior political professor has observed this trend and described that companies and key business figures should be blamed for lobbying the push of such laws. The primary reason is that of the desire to get the unions out of the way on issues that tend to affect the people as opposed to the thinking that they are guided by what the unions are doing presently (Domhoff, 2013). The other related issue is that that employees are typical of exercising fear when there is uncertainty so that they depict and element of fear and they are afraid and they do not want to annoy their employers. The outcome of such fear has been that the bargain power has continued to decline and no one is taking the responsibility of addressing wage demands.
The other major reason for the dwindling power of the unions in the US is because of the economic situation in the country. The private sector has notably been the most adversely affected following the finding that the rates have reduced to 7 percent in 2014 from an estimated 17 percent in the 1980s. The outcome has been mainly due to the emergence of stiff competition, the effect of globalization and the realization that they have a negligible impact on worker productivity (Ozimek, 2012). The effect has been that businesses are trying to respond to the reality that it is not possible to pay above the market wages forever. It is thus necessary that some people have to work from abroad to be able to adjust to the new conditions or risk being eliminated by the systems. The trend is, however, perceived in a positive manner from because it is poised to make the US more competitive. It is based on the hypothesis that if the right-to-work law was extended to all the states in the US, then the private sector will be dead (Gebelhoff, 2016). It thus emphasizes the fact that the economic situation has played a huge role in the outcome of the decline of union power in the last few decades.
The Role of Politics in the Decline of Union Power
The role of politics in the country's workforce issues is also a central subject in the analysis of the lowered interest in unions and the decreased worker bargaining power. The political battle between the Democrats and the Republicans, with the role of the former party being critical. According to a lecturer of public policy, the trend has been a recognition by both unions and those who are unhappy with the unions for the last decade so that unions are increasingly being perceived as the powerhouse for Democratic elections (Gebelhoff, 2016). The election of Democratic candidates is largely based on the money that is derived from the unions to boost the ground for the politicians (Domhoff, 2013). It is notable as it was the case with the reelection of Barack Obama in a majority of the states. In fact, the president once visited Michigan and voiced his lack of support for the state's right-to-work stand arguing that it would be doing away with the opportunity to bargain for better wages. Overall, it has become apparent that the right-to-work laws are more to do with politics than they are associated with economic fluctuations.
Conclusion
In summary, it is worth noting that the last two decades have experienced a dwindling appreciation of labor unions as the power of the union continually gets ranked at the bottom compared to other developed economies. The three primary reasons for the declining power include fluctuating economic conditions, the role of business players to oppose the minimum to create a more competitive environment, and the fact that politics are playing a huge role in the process. The result has been a dwindling appreciation of trade unions and a reduction of employee bargaining power, with the private sector being the worst hit. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how everything turns out in the future considering the fact that even though there is a reduction in the power of the union in the US, the country is nevertheless getting more competitive which is good for business.
References
Domhoff, G. W. (2013). The Rise and Fall of Labor Unions In The U.S. Who Rules America? Retrieved from http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/history_of_labor_unions.html
Gebelhoff, R. (2016, August 1). Why are unions in the U.S. so weak? The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/08/01/why-are-unions-in-the-u-s-so-weak/?utm_term=.39ec3e6fe0bd
Levs, J. (2012, December 12). Analysis: Why America’s unions are losing power. CNN. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/11/us/union-power-analysis/index.html
Ozimek, A. (2012). Reinventing Unions for the 21st Century. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2012/10/29/reinventing-unions-for-the-21st-century/#16d9c1ef659c
