Thread: USA Union Membership 2011

If you ever wondered what current union membership was, here is the latest from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

All Unionized Employees = 11.8%
Government Employees = 37%
Private Industry Employees = 6.9%

Union membership slipped further as attacks came in 2011 - Yahoo! News

You know how Wall Street spreads the wealth so to speak with political contributions? Do the unions do that same? Contribute to both R and D?

Once upon a time I was a member to the American Steelworkers. Upon hire I asked for a copy of the current union contract. The union steward laughed at me. He just said, "if you have a problem then come to me." They took my dues and I never felt like I got anything in return. The working conditions were not great (but not terrible) and the pay was not great (but not terrible). Nothing like the coal miners from back in the day. Nothing like a sweat shop. But do we really need unions to stop us from slipping back into those days? There's been no corporate enlightenment? I guess not. Watch this segment about the dark side of Apple in China...

The dark side of shiny Apple products - CBS News

Originally Posted by 03310151

You know how Wall Street spreads the wealth so to speak with political contributions? Do the unions do that same? Contribute to both R and D?

Guess what party gets the biggest chunk?
Labor | OpenSecrets

This is also interesting: “The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is now the biggest outside spender of the 2010 elections, thanks to an 11th-hour effort to boost Democrats that has vaulted the public-sector union ahead of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and a flock of new Republican groups in campaign spending.” Public-Employees Union Is Now Campaign's Big Spender - WSJ.com

Originally Posted by Kizmet

But do we really need unions to stop us from slipping back into those days?

I am of the opinion (which is subject to change) that there is a pendulum-type effect. Unions were needed to force companies to provide reasonable working conditions (salary, safety, etc.). Then laws were enacted which essentially did, or were supposed to do, the same thing. Then unions became part of the problem with unreasonable demands. So the move was against unions. And the something happens to cause a renewed interest in unions.

As an aside, I suspect part of the reason for relatively low union membership in the private sector is many of those jobs have been moved out of country. Part of the reason for the relatively higher public employee union membership is those jobs are harder to move out of country. Although there always seems to be a move to privatize everything, that is the topic of another discussion.

Originally Posted by perrymk

I suspect part of the reason for relatively low union membership in the private sector is many of those jobs have been moved out of country.

I suspect that this is correct. Also, as I understand it (please correct me if I'm wrong) one of the biggest problems is union negotiated pensions. People worked hard their whole adult lives in order to retire and collect a pension but then they discovered that there's not enough money to pay what was promised. Tragety ensues.

I wouldn't say you're wrong, but rather that it is a complicated issue that neither of us is going to solve in an internet post (smile). If an employer agrees to provide a pension, then the employer should make reasonable contributions to fund that pension. It seems to me there is often no thought for paying, only for promising. I'm not sure this is the union's fault. It is, however, the union's responsibility to make reasonable demands (requests, whatever), negotiate in good faith, and then follow up to see that the terms negotiations are adhered to. Accepting the promise of a glorious pension that cannot be realistically funded is, in my view, irresponsible.