Labor Unions Decline

Organized labor is decreasing around the United States, but many economists wonder what is causing this decrease. In 2013, the amount of unionized workers fell to a 97­year low, at 11.3%. Since the United States wanted to see exactly how much the unions were decreasing, they casted a vote. The vote states that if 44 workers out of around 1,300 had voted differently, than today we would be talking about a union breakthrough instead of the decline.
Because of the dramatic change in the unions, there is many things that the unions no longer do.
This paper will seek to find the driving force behind this decrease, and why workers are choosing to leave their labor unions.
Labor unions are formally defined as an organized association of workers, often

As an observer can clearly see, many of our nation’s people believe in the benefits of unionization, so it is difficult to understand why there has been such a decrease in recent years.A few possible reasons in which the reason for the decline in labor unionism are;
Decreased power of labor unions, expansion of companies in non­unionized states, growth of 4 industries where unions have a smaller presence, increased Globalization, and last but not least, company Hostility to unions. As for there are many reason in why labor unionism is declining, the first I would like to address is the decreased power of labor unions. In recent years, several laws have been passed that restrict labor unions from having the amount of influence they may have had in the past. Because they do not have the power they once held, many workers are choosing to leave their labor unions, if they believe that they cannot be benefited from them.
Secondly, the expansion of companies in non­unionized states has played a major role in the decline because how is the labor unionism suppose to increase if companies are expanding to non­unionized states? Across the country, there are many “right to work,” or

With the growth of these sectors, the percentage of workers in industries where unionization is common is becoming less and less. Many manufacturing companies are choosing to outsource to cheaper countries overseas. Since labor unions hold their strongest influence in manufacturing, the decrease in factory workers leads to a smaller percentage of unionized labor force.
Lastly, the final topics that I found to cause the decline in labor unionism is “Company
Hostility to unions” and “The many things that Unions no longer do.” Several companies around the US have organized specific campaigns that target the influence of labor unions. By undermining the power these unions hold, many workers see no reason in the continuance of unionization. Many economists believe that this is the primary reason for the decrease in organized labor. But what most don’t know is all of the things that unions no longer do that are hurting them, for example, Unions no longer equalize incomes, no longer counteract racial inequality, no longer play a big role in assimilating immigrants, and no longer give lower­