Membership in Private Sector Unions Case Study

First Flanagan offers four hypotheses: one, changes in the structure of the American economy "favor nonunion over union employment"; two, union organization is less intense than it was; three, workers' interest in general has tapered off with reference to unions; and four, management vigorously opposes unions in many instances (Flanagan, 2005, p. 33). Adding to that list, Flanagan asserts that many companies have adopted "human resource management policies" that are similar to what unions have demanded in the past and this results in "diminished demand for unionization" (Flanagan, 34). In other words, if a company is keeping its workers happy and satisfied with progressive policies and sharing the profits, the need for a union in a progressive company is greatly reduced.

Meanwhile, what if a fellow employee asks another employee to sign an "authorization card"? The steps that unions take include the following: a) after a small group discusses the idea, a union representative is contacted; b) issues / needs for improvement in working conditions are developed; c) a "card campaign" is launched, and if substantial numbers of employees sign cards the local or federal labor board is petitioned to allow an election; and d) if the election comes out in favor of the union -- notwithstanding powerful efforts by the company to resist the union -- a union can take place (www.ueunion.org).

In conclusion, private sector unions are definitely losing power, for the reasons outlined in this paper. And it appears that even though states like Wisconsin and Ohio have attempted to shut down public sector unions, there will continue to be strong resistance to those right wing efforts because public sector unions represent people that serve the public -- nurses, police, teachers, and fire fighters.

Works Cited

Farber, Henry S., and Western, Bruce. (2011). Accounting for the Decline of Unions in the Private Sector, 1973-1998. Journal of Labor Research, XXXII (3), 459-480.

Flanagan, Robert J. (2005). Has Management Strangled U.S. Unions? Journal of Labor

Research, XXVI (1), 34-60.

Kleiner, Morris M. (2001). Intensity of Management Resistance: Understanding the Decline of Unionization in the Private Sector. Journal of Labor….....