why are labor unions dying?

Answer 1

Not dying, but changing.

Labor Unions are struggling to regain some of the influence they had before the 1980's (Reagan's admin did quite a bit of damage).

Contracts go to the lowest bidder. Non-Union companies are able to submit lower bids because they cut the costs in labor and tools. Many non-union workers have to supply their own tools and are paid far less. You get what you pay for.

A Full Referral Skilled Trades Union perspective on why Unions are still necessary:

1) Skilled Trades like Ironworkers, Boilermakers, Pipefitters, etc. still need Unions badly. Most of these trades are short term contract labor. The Union provides a way for these workers to have pensions, vacation funds, and health care since they are never with a company long enough to have benefits with the company. (We've had over 10 different W2s in one year!)

2) Safety Standards. Construction is a very dangerous industry, especially Industrial Construction. In 2005, construction workers were only 6% of the workforce but had over 20% of the on the job fatalities (over 16% more than cops and firefighters combined!). That doesn't count the exposure to toxins that catch up to them later. Part of being Union is being OSHA certified. It's a constant updating and testing process; no less than an OSHA 10 class once a year.

3) Firing Process. BS the employer can't fire someone. The contract just makes the employer go through a process to do so. There has to be CAUSE instead of just not liking someone. A Union person can still be let go. (On hubby's current job it happened just last week - 3 let go while job was still in full swing).

4) Not just exploitation of workers, but also holding the company to the contract and safety standards. Example: OSHA is clear on Stainless welding fumes, but not on other metals. Sometimes someone (the steward & hall) have to step in and force the company to have proper ventilation in confined spaces. If OSHA isn't specific, companies try to push the limits of what is legal. On this job, the company has a safety plan they preach, but never practice. In one specific area, the "safety harnesses" the company has chosen are the wrong type & dangerous (the lead doesn't retract properly and gets hung up on the iron). The rescue plan for that area is poorly planned (you can't rescue someone from below and it takes 20 minutes to get above). The company would not fix the problem when the workers complained because of the cost of replacing the harnesses; the Union had to step in and enforce the contract.

5) Taking care of your own. The "rescue team" the company has chosen includes 6 firefighters from the nearest town (30 minutes away) and 3 site office workers and 3 trades workers. There has been a consensus by the workers, that if something happens they're going to take care of their own brothers & sisters. They know they're experienced and better trained for confined space rescue than desk jockeys and firefighters 30 minutes away.

6) Training. Anyone off the street can be non-union. If you're pulling from the A & B list of a Union, the workers have experience & training. Certifications, Training courses, MOST testing, etc at cost to the Union, not employer.

If a company TRULY wants what's best for their employees, they're likely to have the same goals as their unions. The key is for both sides to find their common ground and work TOGETHER.

Answer 2

Because they have committed suicide. Large employers like the automotive industry have been milked dry by the labor union contracts. The companies are not without blame they have operated under the assumption that they would be protected by the government and as a result agreed to ridiculous union demands. Now these companies are losing market share and reducing their work force.

Also manufacturing is itself is changing just as agriculture did about a century ago. When the majority of Americans lived in rural area's and worked as agricultural labor. We grow more food now than we did then. Mechanization of farming has reduced the labor required to produce what we eat.

The same is happening to manufacturing. We still produce (for now) about 25% of the total worlds output of manufacturered goods but we are doing it with fewer people. Labor laws, Unions, Payroll taxes, and OSHA regulations have shifted cost factors to lower the threshold where automation can be employed to replace workers.

Answer 3

The concept of a union is to bring empowerment to a group of individuals (the employees) that would usually have a lot less power than their counterparts (the employers). The main issue with a lot of unions is that they took their power too far, and worked under the assumptions that all the employers wanted was to exploit workers, that all the employers were bad and that benefits were to be squeezed out of companies no matter what.
That clearly moved the pendulum to far to the other side, brought a lot of companies into untenable situations and ended up hurting workers more than helping them (just look at the auto industry in the US).
Since a lot of employers are not bad, don't want to exploit their employees and know that benefits need to be given with responsibility, many of them moved out to a more open environment where the well being of the employee was offered (to a degree) in exchange for a relative flexible working environment (keep in mind that before you would work for a company for life, changing works was a no-no, and nowadays that is not an issue for any employer).

There is still a lot of things to be fixed before a sensible equilibrium can be found. And unions need to see this. The old union movement is not going to survive, but a new union movement more focused and that keeps in view not only what is good for the employees but also good for the company is starting to form. You can see its roots in places where employees are part-owners and have a vote in the board of directors. In that sense labor unions have a decision to make: evolve and adapt or die.

Answer 4

This is an interesting question. In part it is because many of the things labor unions were formed to achieve have been achieved. In part it is because there is not a vigorous working class culture and sense of class identity to sustain them. In part it is because the State supplies a pretty adequate safety net and otherwise regulates the workplace. In part it is due to ideological factors operating against unions. In part it is due to individuals wanting to get what they can for themselves and not perceiving the need for collective action.

No one answer, a combination of factors.

Answer 5

This is my (very humble) opinion:

The unions are a fine concept. They can assist greatly in having individuals attain a better wage and living standard. The fault? They are relentless in 'upping the ante' - the union leadership is constantly pressing for new and expensive additions to their existing contracts. They then price themselves (labor) out of the market. It is too bad - they could do great things for workers but they (leaders) can't seem to stop themselves from clamoring for more, and more, and......

Also, they have virtually eliminated the ability of the employer to fire a worker. The rules that they have negotiated prevent an honest replacement of unproductive workers.

Answer 6

They began in manufacturing and, as factories have left the US, there are fewer members. In the countries where factories have gone, the owners and government are even more willing to kill or imprison union members and organizers than the US was so membership is growing fast in other places.

Answer 7

Our culture is changing.