Unionization

UNIONIZATION

Union membership in the US peaked at 17 million in 1970, with over 30% of private-sector employees unionized. Now it is only 6%.

What happened in the last fifty years to unions? Among the short-term factors was the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. When he fired the striking air-traffic controllers, a green light was given to anti-union forces everywhere. Free-trade agreements allowed many US businesses to manufacture their products abroad. Shareholders have demanded higher return.

But there are overriding long-term factors as well. It is distinctly American to revere private property. Unions interfere with the unfettered use of a company’s property. Working hours, compensation, health care, vacations, etc. must be negotiated with the union. Unions exist not just to bring higher wages to workers: they cut into employers’ ability to dictate how their property is used and shared. We may have some form of democracy in politics; but in the workplace many of us live in dictatorships.

It is hopeful that there are recent strong unionization efforts in the US, for example at Starbucks, Amazon and Chipotle. And a recent poll shows that 71% of US adults approve of unions. 

(SOURCES; Time magazine, 4/21/22; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021; Gallup Poll, 8/30/22).