The State of The Unions
A sign hung at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama where a vote to unionize failed earlier this year. Source: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Recently, unions have pervaded the news. Around 10,000 John Deere employees are currently gearing up to return to negotiations a month into their ongoing strike. Close to 1,400 employees at Kelloggs have also been on strike for a month while fighting for better pay and benefits. Another union vote in an Amazon plant in Alabama seems imminent after a National Labor Relations Board officer said the company interfered in the last one earlier this year. With so much going on in the labor sphere, it is important to have a firm grasp on the national context for unions and recent economic research into their effects in addition to what union support means for Democrats.
Unions are associations of workers, usually grouped by trade or employer, that leverage the power of every worker in a given area in order to more effectively advocate for benefits and protections. Modern unions originally emerged in England in the 17th century and then became extremely relevant during the industrial revolution. These early unions formed out of medieval workers’ guilds, adapting to fit the new industrial context. Unions in the United States formed as a response to the industrial revolution as the workforce tripled in the second half of the 19th century. These unions initially formed in order to combat the deplorable working conditions of the day. It was common for employees as young as eight to work 14-hour days in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. In 1881, workers formed what would later become the American Federation of Labor. The AFL would go on to be instrumental in securing labor wins such as a 40-hour work week and a national minimum wage.
Following a post-WWII boom in manufacturing, union membership peaked in the mid 20th century. 35% of the workforce was unionized at the height of union density in the U.S. Since then, rates have steadily declined to 10.8% in 2020. Union membership began to slip faster at the start of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. This trend was marked by Reagan’s battle with the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization when the former president fired nearly 11,000 employees who refused to return to work.
Union density has dropped steadily since the 1950s. Source: John DiNardo
Another trend in union membership relates to the share of unionized workers in the private and public sectors. Currently, the split amongst unionized employees between the private and public-sectors is about half and half. It is important to keep in mind that although the split is equal in terms of overall numbers, 35% of public-sector employees are affiliated with unions compared to only 6.3% of those in the private-sector. While union density in the public-sector has remained somewhat steady, private-sector density has dwindled to a third of what it was in 1983.
Is this due to the fact that people simply have no desire to join unions anymore? Data suggests that the answer is no. According to a recent study, the share of nonunionized employees who want a union in their workplace was higher in 2019 than in both 1977 and 1995 when membership was substantially higher. Rather, the decline in private-sector union density is due to increased corporate power and efficiency in countering union efforts.
Those who view unions favorably tout their effects on income inequality, among other purported benefits. Over the past 40 years, the amount of income earned by the bottom 90% of workers has not grown in tandem with inflation or the economy as a whole. Without this stagnation, RAND Corporation estimates that median full-time earners currently making $50,000 per year would instead be making around $92,000.
Much of the gap in earnings between everyday workers and those in the upper 10% can be attributed to anti-union efforts. Unionized workers make 11.2% more than their nonunionized peers, and this figure is even more substantial when looking at unionized minority employees versus their nonunionzied peers, even when adjusting for education and experience. This is important because Black people have been shown to make 25% less compared to white people on average. Furthermore, unionized workers are more likely to have employer-sponsored health benefits and more sick days.
Those against unions cite numerous concerns. For one, companies lose a large amount of flexibility when dealing with a unionized workforce. Employers have to deal with union stewards in order to communicate with their employees, an arrangement that often makes discussions difficult. Businesses with unionized employees also have to operate in fear of a strike that could be disastrous for their profits. Unions can also contribute to outsourcing by raising the wages of American employees, pushing jobs abroad. Some believe that unions directly cause inflation, but studies on the validity of this concern provide mixed results.
Recent developments in policy surrounding unions have largely favored employers. The PRO Act, a landmark pro-labor bill, passed the House earlier this year but has extremely grim prospects in the Senate. However, some small provisions included in the PRO Act have snuck their way into the Build Back Better Act. Overall though, recent Supreme Court Cases such as Janus v. AFSCME and Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassis reflect the weakening of union power.
If establishment Democrats continue to fail in their efforts to protect and expand unions, they could lose the support of a longtime voting bloc traditionally sympathetic to the left. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that downtrodden workers will continue to fight more vehemently for rights and benefits, as shown by recent strikes. Joe Biden desperately needs union support whether he realizes it or not. Without it, reelection will be an unlikely prospect for the president.