Chapter

Union Strategies and Structures for Representing

Workers

6

McGraw-Hill/IrwinAn Introduction to Collective Bargaining & Industrial Relations, 4e Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Unions and Politics

- U.S. labor unions have historically devoted the bulk of their efforts to collective bargaining as opposed to political action

- This is consistent with the concept of “business unionism”

- There is no sizable labor party in the U.S., as is the case in a number of European countries

- Unions have not typically identified themselves with a socialist political platform, as is another characteristic of many European labor unions

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American Unions Do Have a Political Agenda

• Unions have been ardent and successful supporters of federal legislation to protect and improve employment conditions, including:

- Minimum wage, OSHA, the Davis-Bacon procedures, Family and Medical Leave Act, and various pension regulations

- Unions mobilize voters, play an active role in state and local politics, and the preparation of legislation

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Labor’s Voice in National and Corporate Affairs

• In recent years the AFL-CIO has increased assistance to candidates for President and Congress who support its labor, trade, economic, and social policies

• John Sweeney created a new Department of Corporate Affairs to identify strategies for making corporate behavior more responsive to worker interests

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Labor’s Role in Coalition Politics

• In recent years, labor has increased its efforts to build or join coalitions for changes in legislation or corporate behavior

• An example would be the “Living Wage”- Labor campaigns have produced community level

ordinances in over fifty U.S. cities requiring companies that do business with local government to pay above the minimum wage

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Current Debates in Unions over the Appropriate Role of Politics

• Some unionists want to reorient strategy away from bargaining and toward political action

- An independent labor party was created in 1995, but to date has attracted few members and has limited political influence

- Labor’s role in political affairs likely will take on greater importance in the future as a builder of coalition politics

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Union Growth and Membership Characteristics

• Union Membership Figures: The Loci of Membership- Union membership peaked in the mid-1940s at around

35 percent- By 1960, membership had declined to 31 percent of the

nonagricultural labor force- By 2006, membership declined to 12.0 percent- New York and Hawaii had the highest union densities,

with 24.4 percent and 24.7 percent- North and South Carolina had union densities of 3.3

percent

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Union membership as a percentage of the nonagricultural labor force, 1930-2002

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By Industrial Sector

• The percentage of manufacturing employees unionized declined from 42.4 percent in 1953 to 13.0 percent in 2006

- However, the percentage of government employees in labor unions rose over the same period from 11.6 to 36.2 percent

- Unionization in the service sector rose from 9.5% in 1953 to 13.9% in 1975, but fell to 3.1% in 2006

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By Occupation

• Union membership also varies by occupation • By 2006:

- In blue-collar ranks, the highest levels of unionization were among craft workers at 15.8%

- Semiskilled occupations, such as operators, fabricators, and laborers were 15.5% unionized

- Among white-collar workers, professional occupations were the most organized at 17.7%

- White-collar union membership in the service sector was 11.4%

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By Demographic Group

• In 2006, 13.0% of all men and 10.9% of all women were members of unions

- Female membership has been rising- Women made up 39.6% of all union members in

2000- Black workers are more likely to be members of

unions than are whites, with 14.5% unionized versus 11.7% of all white workers

- Hispanics have the lowest union rate at 9.8%

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Membership in Large Unions

• A majority of members are concentrated in a few large unions

- In 2004, the five largest unions in the country were the National Education Association (NEA), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters

- Public sector unions were the fastest growing since 1970

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Recent Union Membership Declines

• By 2006, union membership had fallen to 12.0% from a 1945 peak of 35.5%

• Membership declined rapidly after 1977 because most highly unionized industries were hit the hardest by recessions, by the declining competitiveness of U.S. manufactured goods, and by the economic and organizational restructuring within these industries

- Steelworkers lost 511,000 members and the UAW lost 494,000 members from 1979 to 1983

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The Cyclical Factor

• The Cyclical Factor- John Commons was one of the first to note that union

growth was directly correlated with prosperity- Union membership rose and fell in sync with the

business cycle- Commons posited that workers became more

aggressive in pursuing their goals in good economic times, while employers became less resistant since profits were increasing

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Structural Factors

• Historical and legal Influences- Evidence suggests that cyclical factors are not the only

influences on union growth- Union growth did not rebound after 1992 even with

economic expansion- Social change is a large factor, such as the great

depression and wartime economy

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The Influence of Laws and Public Policy

• Union growth and decline is also impacted by legal and public policy

- Union membership in right-to-work states is another illustration on how public policy can influence union growth

- Twenty-two states have such laws, where it is illegal to require employees to join unions as a condition of employment

- Union growth is strong in states granting public employee unions the right to collective bargaining

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Explanations of Recent Union Declines

• Structural Changes n the Economy and the Labor Force

- Changes in the nature and location of jobs have hurt union growth

- Jobs moving away from the east and west coasts, and north-central regions where unions have been historically strong

- Statistics suggest that 40% of the decline in union membership in the past 30 years can be explained by region, industry, and occupational characteristics

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Union Avoidance through Employer Election Campaign Practices

• Management has become more sophisticated and has increased resistance to union organizing

• They now use consultants, direct discussion with employees, speeches by executives, and in some cases threats to thwart union organizing

• Management’s resistance to unions during election campaigns appears to be associated with low union win rates

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Employer Substitution through Personnel Practices

• Management does not always wait until an organizing election to try to convince employee that unions are unnecessary

• Management can adopt sophisticated personnel practices that substitute for union representation

- Avoidance of unionization is the primary objective of the human resource industrial relations pattern

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Government Substitution

• Since the late 1960s, government has become more directly involved in shaping employment conditions

• Governmental influence can come through regulations on health, safety, minimum wage, pension rights and funding

- Government substitution does not seem to hinder union growth in Europe

- For unique cultural reasons, government substitution may have a greater negative impact on U.S. unionization

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American Worker Ideology

• Some historians argue that American culture and the absence of aristocratic traditions lead to a weak union appeal

- Seymour Lipset contrasted American and Canadian ideologies and claimed they explained the higher union membership in Canada, where unions are stronger

- However, opinion polls show that attitudes toward unions are similar in the U.S. and Canada, casting doubt that ideology alone explains the difference; perhaps management resistance explains the difference

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Internal Union Affairs and Actions

• Unions may bear some blame for their organizing difficulties and decline

• Unions have suffered from corruption and slow adaptation to change

• They have not dedicated sufficient resources to organizing efforts

• Union organizing only produces a fraction of the new members needed to offset union members leaving the labor force

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Union Structures for Collective Bargaining

• The AFL-CIO- A federation of national unions- The major federation in the United States- Promotes the political objectives of unions through

political lobbying and dissemination of information to union members

• With the election of President John Sweeney in 1995, the AFL-CIO increased organizing efforts

- Has no formal authority in the bargaining efforts of its member national unions

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The Structure of National Unions

• National unions are the center of political power within most trade unions in the United States

- They are actively involved in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements

- They sanction and provide assistance to their member local unions

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Craft versus Industrial Union Structure

• Union jurisdiction determines who can be organized by the union

- The most prevalent forms are craft and industrial unionism

- A craft union’s jurisdiction is limited to workers in a specific trade

- Industrial union’s jurisdiction typically encompasses all workers in a firm

- Early unions were typically craft, and organized within local labor markets

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The Governance of National Unions

• National unions are typically governed by a constitution and bylaws

- Commonly there are annual and biennial conventions in which officers are elected and bylaws modified

- Officers typically include a president, secretary-treasurer, vice presidents, and an executive board

- Staff helps in negotiations, organizing, grievance administration, research, and governmental affairs

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The Local Union

• For most union members, the most extensive interaction is through the local union

- Workers can attend union meetings and vote for local union officers

- Locals initiate grievance processing and direct strike or picketing activities

- If the local union is not linked to a national union, as in the case with some small manufacturing companies, the local union negotiates a collective bargaining agreement on its own

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The Division between Local and National Union Responsibilities

• In most industrial unionized settings, such as steel and auto, the employee is covered by both a local and industry level contract.

- Local union negotiates the local contract; national union the company or industry contract

- Each agreement covers different subjects• Local contracts might include work rules and seniority

rights, while the national contract covers wage increases, fringe benefits, and procedures

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The Governance of Local Unions

• The local union typically includes a number of elected executive officers

- Industrial unions frequently also have bargaining chairs and bargaining committees that lead the local union in contract negotiations

- Some local unions, such as construction, have a business agent to direct local negotiations and grievance administration

- Local unions are funded by dues paid by employees, and some large locals have paid officers

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Political Life Inside Local Unions

• The shop steward may be the most important person to the average worker

• Local officers and stewards are chosen through elections

- Most are elected for two or three year terms- Some local elections draw many candidates and are

hotly contested; some very few- Slates of candidates sometimes join together

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Union Democracy

• While difficult to generalize, there is often considerable democracy with the union

- Compared to the way officers are chosen in management, unions are highly democratic

- Most unions debate strategic direction

• Union Corruption- Instances of union corruption- Nevertheless, there is evidence of lively debates and

democratic selection of nearly all union officers

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The Election of John Sweeney and the Reorientation of the AFL-CIO

- Debates of the future of unions and the role of the AFL-CIO led to the first contested election for the presidency upon the retirement of Lane Kirkland

- In 1995, John Sweeney, formerly the president of the SEIU, was elected on a platform of aggressive union organizing and redirection of the role of the AFL-CIO

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A Servicing versus Organizing Model of Unionism

• As union membership declined, a debate arose as to whether unions needed to shift away from the traditional “servicing” model to an “organizing” model

- The organizing model would shift a substantial share of union resources toward organizing

- Intended to mobilize union members externally and internally

- The number of unions that will adopt this strategy remains to be seen

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Union Mergers

• One way to alter union governance structure and form is through union mergers

- A goal of the AFL-CIO merger in 1955 was to promote greater rationalization of union structures

- Indeed, George Many and Walter Reuther, then leaders of the AFL and CIO, expected the original 135 unions to be reduced to 50

• The number now stands at 69• Advantages of mergers include administrative

economies and reduced interunion competition • Critics say mergers are a quest for power, lead to less

democracy, and lack rational consolidation

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Unions as Networks

• The increased mobility of workers’ careers today suggests a new conception of unions is needed

- Unions may need to serve as networking agents as they move through jobs

- Workers form their views of unions at an early age- If not recruited early, it’s difficult to retain their

interest- Unions may need stronger community or regional

structures to support worker mobility

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Change to Win Coalition

• Some national union leaders became unhappy with John Sweeney's leadership

• In 2001, the Carpenter's Union withdrew from the AFL-CIO over the pace of change

• In 2005, four major unions – the SEIU, UNITE HERE, the IBT, and the ILIU – issued a joint proposal for reforms

- The AFL-CIO executive committee rejected the reforms- In June, 2005, the four dissenting unions – along with the

UFCW – announced the formation of a new organization called "Change to Win Coalition" (CTW).

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Summary

• Unions’ share of the U.S. labor force declined substantially since the early 1950s

• The decline is more poignant considering the inroads of nonunion firms in the traditional bastions of organized labor

• Contributing to the decline have been innovations in human resource and union avoidance policies

• International competition and poor union innovation have also contributed to the decline