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.
Labor specialists cited several reasons for the steep one-year decline in union membership. Among the factors were new laws that rolled back the power of unions in Wisconsin, Indiana and other states…
In other words, union members were given the choice for the first time, and many chose to drop out of unions.
…the continued expansion by manufacturers like Boeing and Volkswagen in nonunion states…
Now, why would that be happening?
…and the growth of sectors like retail and restaurants, where unions have little presence.
Underemployment McJobs — one of the few growth sectors in the Obama economy.
“McJobs – one of the few growth sectors in the Obama economy.”
along with gubamint workers, and drawing from the same skill pool.
7.3 million public sector employees are union members. That is a disgusting conflict of interest every election cycle – just like JFK wanted 50 years ago this week when he first signed the order to allow them to collectively bargain.
And 2.5 million are in the occupation category “education, training and library”. Now there’s some dangerous work environments and abusive management, right?
Why haven’t the unions tried to unionize the unemployed?
Unions exist to extract dues; everything else is commentary.
Imagine if they could just automatically extract monthly dues from every unemployment check.
It’s an idea so crazy it just might work.