“The Decline of the Labor Movement”

Patricia Cayo Sexton

US Labor Relations

War in Labor/Left: War on labor has been waged in the US for well over a

century. It began again in the 1950s and was accelerated in the 1970 and 1980s.

Result: decline in “union ‘density’ (the unionized share of the work force)

Union Percentage of the Workforce: 1950: 36%1989: 16%

US Labor Relations

US Sweden Denmark

Finland UK W. Germany

16% 95% 95% 85% 50% 40%

Labor Decline in US in Comparative Terms: 1990s

Labor Repression: Worst in US

Causes of Union Decline (319)Why have union declined at such a faster rate in the US

than in other countries?

Two common claims: 1) Was it because of public disapproval? 2) Because of the behavior of unions themselves?

US Labor Relations

Public Approval: It has IncreasedPublic approval of US unions climbed between 6

%...between 1981 and 1988.

Have Unions Incited Hostility by Demanding Wage IncreasesWages in the US are low in comparative terms.

Employers, Government, Repression (319)

Wage Gap: The gap between what union and non-union employees

make gives employers an incentive to target unions, and to hire non-union workers.

Moreover, a favorable legal environment makes it easy for employers to work against unions. In Canada, where wages are quite high, you do not see the attack on unions because there are laws to protect them.

Employers, Government, Repression (319)

Employers and Anti-Labor Laws: Supported and Encouraged

To attack Unions.“In the end, then, union decline is caused, not by

excessive wage demands, but by employer efforts to repress unionism andemployer inspired laws that allowed them to do so.”

Public Sector Penetration (319)Reasons the public sector is small in the US (compared to

Canada) is because economic elites have opposed it.

Employers, Government, Repression (319)

Closings and Cutbacks (320)Closings and cutbacks account for much of the Union decline in

the US. In many other countries (Japan, West Germany, France, UK) laws were passed in the 1980s that “sharply restricted such closings.”

Comparative Labor LawIn the US (and Canada) the absence of such laws led to massive

closings and cutbacks. Any econ. Elites resisted any attempt to pass such favorable labor legislation in the US.

Example: Japan Workers can and are culturally encouraged to sue when plants are closed or relocated. This happened to Proctor and Gamble in the 1980s.

Labor Law

Labor Relations and Labor Law (320)US labor practices and laws in the 1970s and 1980s

exemplify what aggressive anti-labor practices look like: employers targeted union organizers, fired union activists, turned against collective bargaining, and sought to counter (with “aggressive and expensive campaigns) to discourage people from joining unions.

In Canada, laws were passed banning such harsh anti-

union labor practices.

Political Context

Canadian and US LawIn Canada, unions have thrived, while in the US they have

declined. The reasons for the difference are the presence of laws in Canada protecting workers rights. In Canada, for example, it is easy to get a union recognized. In the US, it is very difficult.

West Germany (322)There have been fewer closings and cutbacks, and laws

exist limiting worker layoffs and restraining deregulation. This is a result of strong unions, a social democratic party and econ. Elite not hostile to labor.

Political Context

US: Union Decline Because No Union Politics

Neocorporatism and Tripartitism (321)

Unique Absence of Labor Parties (322)Labor strength depends on the success of its politics, and

its politics depend on the strength of the unions and collective bargaining.

Political Context

No Labor Party in US (322)

Social Democratic Politics: Policy Positions (323)

Consequences of US Union Decline (324)