The Implications of Global Competitiveness on U.S. Unionization Free Essay Example, 1500 words

This research will begin with the statement that labor unions are organized groups formed by a group of workers for a common cause or movement. According to some theorists, they are either interest groups or social movement groups . They work in the manufacturing department of the organizations and their primary task is to fix wages by revolting or protesting and make employers hear their demands. They try to exercise monopoly power within the organization. In the United States of America (USA), they are known as labor unions and in other countries they are called trade unions . The major cause of decline of labor unions is due to the increased resistance from management. The employers considered that the main motive of the unionization was to increase their wages. This hampered the productivity of the organizations. Frequent strikes and protests led to a negative environment in the workplace and caused project hiatus. Another major factor that led to decline in labor unions was advanced technology; newly invented machines displaced labor in most of the factories. Competition increased rapidly in various service sector industries leading to increased responsibilities of workers. We will write a custom essay sample on The Implications of Global Competitiveness on U.S. Unionization or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page In other nations workers are not represented only by unions but also have developed work councils. The work councils engage in positive interaction with the managers of the organization and deal with non-wage issues like training, technological issues etc. , and believe in productivity improvement of the organization. In the USA, regions like Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia witnessed a major decline labor unions during the 1977-1987 period. These areas constituted metal industries, printing and publishing, wood and timber industries. The labor unions had peaked during the mid 1990s, There were twenty million members in the labor union. According to some theorists, the changing nature of economy and employers resistance toward labor unions were the major cause of downfall of the unionization. The main reason may be that workers found it difficult to adapt to changing rules and regulations of the organizations.