The current workplace is highly diverse than ever as multiple generations are found working in corporations across the globe. However, this kind of diversity brings about a challenging and fascinating diversity. The historical co-existence brought about by the multiple generations at the workplace is unprecedented, and this is laying down a foundation for an organizational melting pot of diverse work ethics, cultures, and beliefs. In most cases, the relationships between the different generations are very low, and with each generation believing, it is better than the other is, it can bring about tension at the workplace. One of the most affected entities in the workplace is the unions. The National Labor Relations Act was ratified in 1935, and following its enactment, it changed the management and workers relationship. The NRA called for the formation of unions by American employers, and this aimed at laying down a foundation for the development of an improved employee bargaining power and unison at organized workplaces. Two decades after the enactment of the NLRA, more than 35% of the private sector employers had formed unions the shocking factor is that since the 1950s; there has been a tremendous decline in the number of unions and members across the USA because of various global and national causes (Stanberry.2011). Despite the National Labor Relations Act calling for higher employee salaries, wages, and better benefits, only 6.9% of private sector employees were unionized by 2010 (Stanberry,2011). This has brought about an increased debate about the future of the NLRA act, the unions and whether solidarity will remain etched at the workplace. However, what most scholars have not focused on is the different impacts of the generational gaps on the survival of the unions. This research aims to highlight how various generational aspects related to Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y are affecting the survival of the unions and whether the union membership will continue to dwindle as time goes by.
The Baby Boomers, born between (1943 and 1960), still play a crucial role in the modern day workplace (Schoch, 2012). This has seen the generation being referred to as experts or “seasoned” leaders for they have a wide experience across various fields. The generation carries with it a vast awareness of wisdom and knowledge related to economic and industrial changes. However, the younger generation tends to view them more negatively as they were brought up in a productivity philosophy driven by brick-and-mortar. Baby Boomers have different work ethics, beliefs, and cultures. According to Gravett & Throckmorton (2007), 69% of Baby Boomers feel that the younger generation of employees lacks work ethics.
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Generation X was born between (1961 and 1981) are viewed as being independent individuals (Schoch, 2012). This results from the fact that they were brought up by working parents and had to learn how to take care of themselves. A high number of this generation prefer hands-off management style for they hate being bossed around. The generation was also brought up during the technology era and thus do not fear to embrace it as compared to the Baby Boomers. They also tend to adapt well to the ever-changing business environment.
Generation Y, born after 1982, are viewed as being more demanding and an impatient workforce, yet they comprise about 50% of the entire American workforce (Schoch, 2012). This generation is also referred to as the Millennials, and they are well educated and well groomed. Unlike the Baby Boomers and Generation X, the Millennials have not had a tough life. However, they are forced to take poor paying jobs as the Baby Boomers occupy the high executive positions past their retirement age while Generation X occupy middle levels entry jobs. This generation is also very conversant with technology, this is also seen in their modes of communication, which is heavily reliant on social media, unlike face-to-face, Baby Boomers, and Generation X prefer that.
It is an indication that the current workplace is highly multi-generational expansive, and as such, the emergence of challenges inevitable. However, this increased work diversity has its benefits, such as increased work innovation, productivity, and creativity. According to Strauss and Howe’s theory of generations, various factors affect different generations, and this is ultimately bound to influence their behaviors, values, and attitudes at the workplace and towards organizations (1991). The generational theory was formulated following a merger of two separate scholarship traditions: The Generations Approach Theory and Social Movements theory. The Generations Approach theory is based on the tenet that by determining the age location of a certain generation, on can have an ability to determine the impact of age on the personalities of people and thy they retain them as they grow older (Strauss & Howe, 1991). The Social Movement Theory is based on the assumption that a historical event can change an individual’s social environment (Strauss & Howe, 1991). Therefore, Straus and Howe noted that every generation has its attitude towards the future, social institutions, sex roles, family, lifestyle, and religion. Therefore, every generation will develop negative or positive attitudes about certain things. They two researchers noted that two generations are similar to two neighbors, and they can have personalities that can clash, attract, mesh, or repelled by the other. The generational theory, therefore, can be best used in explaining the challenges affecting the unions brought about by three different generations; Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. This is based on the difference in attitudes, beliefs, and cultures because of dissimilar periods of being brought up.
According to Silva (2015), the largest population in the USA is represented by the Baby Boomers. More than 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 years daily (Silva, 2015). This is an indication that there is going to be a mass migration of this generation from the workplace. A substantial number of the Baby Boomers were born a decade after the radical labor movements of the 1930s that led to the enactment of the NLRA. This generation was largely involved in the formation of labor movements and thus forming the largest number of members. However, this generation that brought about intense politicking in the unions, and this led to their collapse in the 1960s and 1970s. By the mid-1980s, a massive number of labor unions had been brought down to their knees. The Baby Boomers joined the unions with such zeal, and they enjoyed tremendous benefits. However, the same Baby Boomers destroyed the unions making other generations not to benefit. Fast forward to the 21 st century; the Baby Boomers still consist of a large portion of the labor force.
However, this population of employees is leaving the labor market at an alarming rate there has been a 3% decline in the labor force participation rate in the USA for the past few years up from 66% before the Great Recession (Coombs, 2017). The major cause for this decline is the high number of Baby Boomer retirement. The labor force participation rate in 2016 was 62.7% during the fourth quarter up from 62.8% in the fourth quarter of 2015 (Coombs, 2017). This is an indication that the Baby Boomer retirement dropped the Labor Force Participation rate by 0.15 points (Coombs, 2017). As of 2014, 55 years and above employees represented 35 million workers, and it is anticipated that by 2024 this population will only constitute a fourth of the entire USA labor force (Coombs, 2017). This is an indication that the Baby Boomer’s nearing retirement status is going to affect the unions as they are going to continue witnessing a reduction in membership numbers.
Pyoria et al. (2017) states that Generation Y and Generation X were mostly born in the technology advancement era. During this time, the world was witnessing an increased technological advancement, which was affecting all sectors of the economy, including the way and quality of life. The use of the internet and personal technology has a huge role to play towards the effectiveness of the NLRA and ability of these two generations to join labor unions. Nonetheless, Generation Y is obsessed with personal technology, and this is a huge determinant of whether they will join the labor unions.
A huge number of the millennial workforce was brought up when the economy was prospering positively. This was mainly supported by the American dream to adopt new technology to improve overall service provision. For most Millennials, the increased investment in technology by the federal, state, and local governments had a massive impact on their afterschool and educational undertakings (Stanberry, 2011). A good example is seen in the case whereby Millennials are taught in school how to use computers, type, and even create various websites. Back at home, the Millennials had access to video games, used online chatting tools to keep up with friends and family, and even surfed over the internet. The Millennials are, therefore, a tech-savvy generation, and this is what has made them fully obsessed with various social media sites. According to a study by the Pew Research Centre, 72% of Millennials use social networking sites, and 91% use the internet for various reasons (Stanberry, 2011). However, it is not just the ever-changing technology that has had an impact on the millennial embracement of unions. In 2008, following the USA and the global financial crisis, there was an increased debate on the use of unions and un-union contracts (Stanberry, 2011). Most people cited that unionized institutions caused state deficits and increased anti-competitiveness.
In the USA, one can get employment based on “employment at will” terms. Through this, it is an indication that the employer has the legal right to terminate your employment. According to a study by Microsoft, more than 75% of all employment applications in the USA are based on using the internet (Stanberry, 2011). This is also, what has made a large number of employees to use the internet at their workplaces. The Millennials have decided to use the internet to raise any concerns they have at their workplaces anonymously, thus bypassing the need to joining unions. The major reason why a majority of the Millennials have shunned of labor unions is that they feel the organizations’ efforts are rather tedious and slow, unlike the internet whereby one can get assistance in a matter of seconds. Moreover, information is now accessed at the fingertips of a majority of employees, and due to their high educational status; they can articulate any concerns they might have at the workplace. This is very different from the Baby Boomer generations who had to use unions in helping them to spread any information once they felt oppressed by employers.
The internet has now become a forum for most Millennial employees whereby they can reach a large audience and air out any problem they are facing at work. (Stanberry, 2011) The employees will have an ability to get the backing of the public from the internet, unlike traditionally, whereby the unions relied on various media to get out the message. The internet is known as being viral, and in seconds, a compelling story can be shared across various social media sites. It is due to this that the first option or Millennial employees are to publish grievances on the internet as they know that such attention will create a sense of discomfort in the employer similarly to what a union would have done (Stanberry,2011). No employer would want to be faced with bad publicity, as it will amount to a loss of public confidence and eventually loss of customers. It is because of this that Millennials prefer using technology to advance their bargaining power without having to use a third party, union, at the workplace.
Additionally, almost all unions have a long history based on traditional rules and regulations. The unions were formed after the passing of the NLRA act of 1935, also referred to as the Wagner Act. The Amendments to the act over the years had proven to be futile except in 1947 when the Labor Management Relations Act/ Taft-Hartley Act was passed (Craver, 2009). Ever since there has been no other amendment to the act. Therefore, a large number of Baby Boomers dominate most labor unions, whereby they also act as leaders. This is an indication that the unions are government using traditional values; it is expected for all members to align with the beliefs, and attitudes set by the leadership. In case of the Generation X and Generation Y, once they decide to join such unions, they find that that it is not an easy environment for them to attain any leadership positions nor do they have sufficient numbers that can help them drive specific points. This is even though the rules of the modern business environment have substantially changed. For most Baby Boomers, they would like to manage the unions still as they were more than 70 decades ago. The traditional values and formalities of such unions at the time cannot work in a fast-paced business environment. The business environment is also marred by a considerable set of challenges, such as high competition and ever-dynamic technological innovation. This makes such unions ill-fitted to meet the needs of Generation X and Generation Y employees. These two generations will end up seeing the unions as being irrelevant as they are still operating as they used to during the old industrial era. Therefore, Generation X and Generation Y will view the unions as being obstacles to solving their problems and will make companies less competitive.
According to the Equal Employment and Opportunity, no employer should discriminate his/her employees based on age, religion, ethnicity, race, or any other demographical feature. The discrimination of employees basing on age should not be used whether it is during hiring, training, promotion, or discharging. However, in the USA and other nations, the longer an individual works, the higher the number of benefits the individual will access. This is what forms the seniority systems in most corporations, and the benefits can include higher overtime rates, paid vacations, among others (Rubinstein, 2005). The seniority systems are used to reward people not abusing on their merits by instead their longevity. According to the younger generation comprising of the Generation X and Generation Y, they believe that performance should be the focus of any unionized environment and any labor union has to make certain it manages performance. Generation X and Generation Y employees mostly feel that any reward system used at the workplace should not be based on seniority and tenure but instead, performance and merit.
Nonetheless, this is quite different from what the Baby Boomers want. This older generation believes that it is through their hard work, sacrifices, and efforts that the corporations could reach their current success rates. Generation X and Generation are seen as enjoying the Baby Boomers fruits; thus should not question any reward system. In union-represented workplaces, they have for years protected the Baby Boomer generation of employees’ when it comes to rewards basing on seniority and tenure (Rubinstein, 2005). The unions must negotiate any decisions with the employer related to overtime allocation, wage rates, working hours, employee shifts, and vacation time, among other benefits. During such negotiations, the unions have for years seemed to give advantage to the longest-serving employees, and this mostly comprises of the Baby Boomer generation. The junior workers consisting of the mainly the Generation Y and some of Generation X employees are left out. The labor unions have supported this kind of rewards systems and even cited it is fair as it perceives that every employee will one day have an opportunity to enjoy seniority at some time in his/her professional journey.
Generation X and Generation Y employees argue that no law has stated the seniority systems is legal. It is only based on various collective agreements between the labor unions and employers (Rubinstein, 2005). The unions argue that this standard is important as it eliminates the need for employees to ask for favors from employers. Similarly, it is argued that the seniority system will prevent any form of discrimination by employers during the allocation of benefits as one can engage in nepotism or favoritism. The seniority system is also making it hard for Generation X, and Generation y employees to employment as some companies may want to hire the older generation employees as they have more knowledge and skills in certain jobs such as engineering, medicine, and even higher level learning institutions. Therefore, Generation X and Generation Y employees do not see the need for joining unions that will not fight for them to get benefits, yet they work harder and deliver better results.
The current unions are more inclined towards politics as there has been an increased political attack against the labor union over the past few years. This is quite different from the unions during the Baby Boomer era, whereby unions were considered as being much more independent bodies. Generation X and Generation Y employees are less inclined towards political landscapes, and this is what is causing their low membership numbers. Friederich v. California Teachers Association case evidences a good example of increased politicking in labor unions (Liu, 2017). The case was presented in court in 2015, and it mainly targeted the labor union protections referred to as “fair share” fees. In most of the public sector employees, the agency shop is the core security agreement that enables them to exist. This allows employers to hire employees from both the non-union and union affiliation as long as the latter can pay “fair share fees.” This will make sure that such employees benefit from any collective bargaining agreement the case was filled by a California based teacher, Rebecca Friederich as she sought the scrapping of the fees paid by the non-union employees for it is a violation of the First Amendment act through violating their freedom of speech (Liu,2017). Such increased politicking is what is turning off the Millennials and Generation X employees from joining the respective labor unions. This is even though Millennials are still facing some of the lowest wage rates in the USA, as they cannot access high paying jobs. This group is also affected by a higher rate of financial insecurity and higher debt loads, such as student loans. Nonetheless, the case was ruled as a non-precedential per curium. Regardless of this, it is an indication of how politics prevent the Millennials and Generation X employees from becoming unionized.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2017), more than 70 million Baby Boomers are expected in the coming few years. This is bound to decrease the labor participation rate to 40% by 2022 up from 80%with more than 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring daily; this is leaving more than 6,000,000 employment vacancies unfilled (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017). This is a great concern for all employers across all industries in the United States. However, the manufacturing sector is the one that is bound to suffer the most. Even though there is a massive exodus of Baby Boomers from the manufacturing industries, Generation Y and Generation X do not have any interest in taking up the unfilled positions.
In 1973, there was a tremendous decline in manufacturing sector employees following the oil crisis (OECD, n.d). However, this did not affect the unions as they continued to witness an increased rate of membership between the 1970s and 1980 in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the USA (OECD, n.d). The manufacturing sector is crucial towards the overall economy of the USA. Nonetheless, Generation Y and Generation X rank it is the least preferred career destination. The reason for this is that the perception these two generations have regarding the sector is old and archaic. For many years, Millennials and Generation X have not understood what modern manufacturing is all about. This has seen mots employers having a hard time once they let goo the Baby Boomer employees who have a lot of experience, skills, and knowledge. The employers are continually discouraging workers from retiring. Moreover, Generation X and Generation Y have grown up in a tech-savvy environment, and to them, manufacturing does not fall under their job buckets. Therefore, with most unions tracing their roots back to the manufacturing sector, they are bound to close once the Baby Boomers reach retirement age.
The service sector is an amalgamation of various subsectors such as hotel and restaurants, transportation financial, communication, cosmetics, among others. The number of service sector employees in the transportation and communications sector was slightly lower in the late 1980s as compared to the early 1970s (OECD, n.d). This brought about a reduced number of unionization whereby only one out of five employees from the sector joined a union. In the USA, the rates were much lower. However, as time went by, the service sector employees have surpassed the manufacturing industry that was leading to union and employee numbers. This is attributed to the fact that Generation Y and Generation X have sought employment opportunities from this sector. The Baby Boomers do not seek employment from the sector as it is highly technology reliant, making it unfavorable as they lack the technical awareness. However, the number of employees in the service sector, joining unions has not improved more than three and a half decades later. In most of the service sector employment, they are based on a temporal basis, and this ends up tightening the association between the current labor market state and wages. This indicates there is a minimal role for unions to intervening. Hence, the employees do not see a need for joining or forming any. The cost of labor in the service sector is also vital and thus, raising wages is not possible for unions hence their low numbers. Finally, the manufacturing sector, unlike the service industry, has higher market power, and this lays down a foundation upon which unions can use to raise the minimum wages and thus allowing them to operate. This is unlike the sieve sector that operates mostly a perfectly competitive sector, and in case unions push for a higher wage increase for employees, the firms will end up being bankrupt. It is evident that the survival of unions in the service sector is not possible yet; Generation Y and Generation X employees highly dominate this sector.
According to the generation theory by Strauss & Howe (1991), generational gaps brings about different attitudes, values, and cultures with regards to future, social institutions, sex roles, family, lifestyle, and religion. The modern workplace is diverse because of many varying demographical differences between the employees. However, one outstanding demographical difference that is both a fascination and challenge from age. The Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Generation Y employees work together in various sectors across the economy. However, these their generations have different attitudes, beliefs, and values concerning the formation and joining of unions. The Baby Boomer generation was born when unions were very strong, and this has seen most of this generation, forming a huge part of modern day unions. On the other hand, Generation Y and Generation x employees from a very small portion of union membership due to various factors such as technological adoption whereby they prefer airing their grievances to the internet. Moreover, the manufacturing sector was the backbone upon which unions were formed. However, most Generation Y and Generation X employees prefer working in the service sector as they view the manufacturing sector as being archaic and old aged. The Baby Boomers have also been protected by seniority and tenure system that sees them getting more benefits as compared to the Generation Y and Generation X. the two former groups find the unions unfair and prefer not to join them. Lastly, most unions have taken a political landscape that does not go well with Generation Y and Generation X.
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