1. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
Hist. Pers.

2. Union Growth and Decline
Increase from 3.5% %
Stayed at about 10-11%
Increase from 11.2% %
Decrease from 19% %
WWII
Increased from about 11.8% to 21.8%

3. Union Growth and Decline (WWII and Since)% % %
Steady Decline since mid 1950’s

4. U.S. Unionization, Comparison of Recent Years
2005
Membership/Reprst’d
15.7M members (-3.7%)
17.2M ees repped (-5.5%)
Rates
12.5% members (-13.8%)
13.7% repped (-15.4%)
By sector
Private nonag
7.9% members
-22.5%
8.5% repped
-.26.1%
Public
36.5% members (-3.8%)
40.5% repped (-6.9%)
1996
Membership/Reprst’d
16.3 million members
18.2 million ees repped
Rates
14.5% members
16.2% repped
By sector
Private nonag
10.2% members; 11.2% repped
Public
37.7% members; 43.0% repped
Hist. Pers.

5. Historical Influences on U.S. Unionism
Strong Management and Employers
Law and Government Policy
Inability of Unions to Stay Organized
Hist. Pers.

6. Labor History: An Overview
Knights of Labor
Fast Rise and Decline
Industrial Workers of the World
class consciousness
Hist. Pers.

7. Modern Union Structures
American Federation of Labor
1881(renamed AFL in 1886)
Conservative
Survival Oriented
Craft Structure
Congress of Industrial Organizations ( )
Industrial Unions
1955 Merger of AFL and CIO
2005 Change to Win Federation
Teamsters Service Employees
Laborers UFCW
UNITE HERE - Carpenters
Farmworker
Hist. Pers.

8. Management Practices (Great Variation in U.S.)
Industrial revolution
Development of modern employment relationship
Scientific management ’s
Overt Hostility to unions
Mid 1920’s to early 1930’s
Welfare Capitalism and Company Unionism
1930’s to early 1950’s
resistance to institutionalized adversarialism
Legislation
World War II
Roots of modern collective bargaining system in US and Canada
Hist. Pers.

9. Management Practices (cont.)
1950’s – 70’s
Private Sector
Bifurcated IR system
union and nonunion
Stability
Public Sector
Development of collective bargaining systems modeled on private sector
Limitations on strike and Arbitration as strike substitute
1980s: Recession, globalization, pro-management labor relations policy
Hist. Pers.

10. Management Practices (continued)
1980’s – business cycle and pro-employer labor policies
Private unionized sector
Movement toward extremes in collective bargaining
Cooperation and workplace change
Conflict and deunionization
Traditional relationships – some concession bargaining
Private nonunion sector
Growing as percentage of labor force
Union avoidance
Evolution of the law
Union avoidance industry
Hist. Pers.

11. Management Practices (cont.)
General prosperity and stability in labor policies
focus on employment security, alternative work arrangements, increased union avoidance, joint partnerships
2000-
Economic slowdown in ’00-03 period
Retrenchment in unionized sectors
Manufacturing
Global competition
Health care
Legacy costs
Government
Tax cuts
Hist. Pers.