Analysis: Why America's unions are losing power? I obviously have to school you on the bigger picture. Read before you vote.
fraction of the influence they did a few decades ago. Only about 12% of workers are union members, down from 20% in 1983, according to federal data. In the private sector, the plunge has been even steeper: union membership has dropped from 17% in 1983 to 7% today.
partly because certain unionized industries have become a smaller part of the overall work force, particularly in manufacturing. It's also a result of government action......"GOVERNMENT" why you ask?
Read on.
Michigan has become the 24th state to adopt a right-to-work law, which removes the requirement for people to pay unions to work at unionized agencies, effectively decreasing union funding and making it less likely that workers choose to Organize. Of course people on this site like to mention things like
"People need to wake up and fight!"People need to realize what unions have done for them."Who gave people the 40-hour work week? Who fought for workplace safety? Who brought you the weekend? Who brought you workers comp? Who gave people overtime pay?" Of course there's no denying the benefits of Union many many years ago....so what's changed? What's going on? Read on.
industry analysts agree that organized labor no longer holds the sway it once did among America's workers. So why the downfall of American unions? That depends on who you ask.
Big businesses are behind campaigns to squelch organized labor, and they are seeing some success, according to Gordon Lafer, a political science professor and opponent of right-to-work laws. "The anti-union campaigns of the last three years, starting with Wisconsin, have really been driven ... by big national organizations and money," said Lafer, a union member and who teaches labor studies at the University of Oregon.
"I think an important question to think about is: Why are big private companies spending a lot of money and energy fighting public sector unions?
"They want more free trade, lower minimum wage, the right not to pay sick leave, and all those things which are not per se about union contracts. But the biggest single opponent they have is the labor movement, even in its shrunken and weaker state."
Lafer blames businesses and key business figures for lobbying to push such laws "not because of what unions are doing now for their own members but to get them out of the way on issues that will affect everybody else." In other words unions get in the way of profit. We all know that. The question is why than are the evils of corporate America chipping away at Union power and winning?
The answer is simple. people who are unemployed resent unions rather than big business leaders, in fact unions are often blamed for creating a bottleneck in employment.
There's also an element of fear among those who have jobs, he said. In this time of economic uncertainty, workers are afraid to organize because they don't want to upset their employers and lose their jobs. Unemployment remains high and the population has grown beyond what is sustainable.
What else has contributed to unions weakend influence? Read on.
The economy
For businesses to recover from the recession and build jobs in America, they need to get out from under organized labor, according to some analysts. And that has led to the decline of union power -- which is good news, they say.
"Unions have lost power in the private sector over time because of competition, globalization, and the fact that they don't add any value to worker productivity," said Chris Edwards, an economist with the Cato Institute and a fan of right-to-work laws.
Businesses are responding to today's realities and "can't pay above-market wages forever," he said. "So either they will move work abroad or they will automate to try to get rid of as many workers as they can."
That is the cold hard fact of today's world. Not the world of jimmy Hoffa.
To build jobs in America, Edwards said businesses can't be beholden to mandatory collective bargaining, which can increase wages and expenses without increasing profits.
In recent years, the retirement of baby boomers has fueled anti-union sentiment as some companies struggle to pay pensions as well as health care for the aging population -- benefits that were negotiated through collective bargaining. And, Edwards notes, that pressure comes on top of the economic downturn. the U.S. private sector, which is a good thing for workers and businesses because it will make America more competitive," he said. "If right-to-work laws extend to the 50 states, then private sector unions will be dead in America."
How does Edwards feel about the death of all private sector unions?
"Good riddance," he said.
So we have the passing of baby boomers, economy, automation and government in bed with large corporations investing in the fall of Union. this is why you can't win. You need only look at all that Altice has gotten away with beyond our American borders. They will continue to be a threat to the workforce because they are not alone. An army of private sector companies are banding together and doing the same. You think it's coincidence that spectrum has the same exact plans from Altice and is sticking with it? You think it's coincidence these companies merged and are now decimating the workforce. No it's not. You think Nyc, congress and the rest of government are not in on it and see what's happening? Just look at the recently passed right to work act and tell me they don't.
I couldn't care less whether you Union or don't. What Iam trying to tell you is that the power of Union is dieing the people killing it are bigger than all of us. It's a different time and place. A place where heavy debt, the pursuit of profit, and heavy downturn has no time or room for Union. You either take what have or have nothing. Your loyalty, your pride, your years of service are worthless. Your just a means to an end.
Also in case you didn't know the entire tech industry is laying off and cutting down its work force from Google to Microsoft. Apparently technology is a double edged sword. Not the best industry to get into as some have thought.