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Union Membership Drops Despite Job Growth - NYTimes.com

abaldwin360:

tartantambourine:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the total number of union members fell by 400,000 last year, to 14.3 million, even though the nation’s overall employment rose by 2.4 million. The percentage of workers in unions fell to 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2011, the bureau found in its annual report on union membership. That brought unionization to its lowest level since 1916, when it was 11.2 percent, according to a study by two Rutgers economists, Leo Troy and Neil Sheflin.

This is bad news for all workers, not just those in unions, because organized labor has been the strongest force for advocating better wages for all, fair benefits and safer workplaces.

This is indeed bad for everyone.

A strong union presence in any area drives wages up. Non union business have to offer wages that are comparable to union wages (and benefits) in order to compete for workers.

Without a strong union presence (or no unions at all) there is no incentive for any of the above and puts all of the power in the hands of the employers when it comes to negotiating wages.

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