Trade unions play a significant role in the domestic and global labor market, as they not only help employees to have higher bargaining power but also enhance organizational success. Employees who feel that their professional and personal needs are meet satisfactory through safe working conditions and proper remuneration. Trade unions have a long history dating back to the 1930s with the implementation of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. They reached their peak in the 1950s as workers sought reprieve from the effects of two world wars and the Great Recession. However, their popularity has declined significantly in the last few decades with only about 10-20 % of all US workers being trade union members (Visser, 2019). According to the International Labor Organization, this trend is not unique to the US but it is witnessed in other countries. This trend may continue well into the future considering that the work environment has changed drastically. In the future trade unions must target employees from informal sectors, expand to other countries, match with HR policies, forge new alliances, and participate in international forums to survive.
Historical Information regarding Unions that may Carry from Now into the Future
Trade unions were formed to protect workers' interests and to prevent employers from misusing or firing workers without cause. The unions would empower employees to bargain with their employers for better working conditions and better pay without being intimidated. The government was expected to support the workers by offering a legislative platform for them to negotiate with their employers. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA) was indicative of the government’s commitment to supporting the welfare of its workers from being exploited (Hayter and Visser, 2018). It is against this background that trade unions flourished and attracted more workers who hoped that they would have a chance at improved lives. While the Act was promising to the workers, it received harsh criticisms from employers as it limited their competitiveness owing to strict labor laws regulating hiring and remuneration. The Act prevented them from being flexible in their hiring, firing, trimming working hours and cutting wages in line with economic fluctuations. The employers contributed to the collapse of NLRA in the 1980s since they did not embrace its recommendations from the start (Hayter and Visser, 2018). Future legislation should be aimed at ensuring that there is a consensus between employees, employers, and other stakeholders to avoid a repeat of the same. More so, the labor relations acts should allow flexibility to ensure that each of the parties is given a leeway if need be.
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Challenges of Labor Relations in America and the Globalized Society
Labor relations in America and the globalized society have changed over the years owing to economic, political, technological, and social adjustments in the world. A report by the International Labor Organization indicates that trade-union membership has been on the decline during the last few decades with most countries having only 20 percent of unionized employees (Karreth, 2018). Labor relations are affected by reduced employment opportunities in the public sector which is the primary target market for trade unions. The reason for reduced employment opportunities is the fact that most organizations have transformed into digital economies in place of manual tasks. Digitization has led to the destruction of various jobs which from a trade unions perspective, are those jobs that could be done by human workers. According to Ackers (2015), the digital revolution has led to a decline of crafts-related jobs for skilled and semi-skilled laborers who are targeted by trade unions. Trade unions have made efforts to ensure that this group of laborers have union memberships to advance laborers’ industrial and political relations. Trade unionists fear that this trend may affect nursing and teaching jobs even though only human workers can handle them. If this were to be the case, then trade unions would suffer a significant blow considering that teachers and nurses form a bulk of union members. An infiltration of digital technologies means that there will be few human workers who are scattered about, which limits their influence when it comes to collective bargaining.
Trade unions are facing another significant challenge, which is a result of a reduction in the number of middle-class workers, thus increasing pressure for trade unions to stay relevant. Trade unions are supposed to ensure that they promote the welfare of workers so that their earning power is increased significantly. According to Hayter and Visser (2018), for the last few decades trade unions have not been able to fulfill this responsibility owing to platform economies which though at their infancy stage, are growing fast. Platform economies’ accelerated growth will threaten unions, which exist to solve employer-employee conflicts and help workers to engage in collective bargaining. Online economic platforms will remove the need for collective bargaining conflict management as the platforms reduce transaction costs and customers will deal directly with the employer (Benassi and Vlandas, 2016). More so, online platforms have developed applications and gigs, which help them to outsource, network, break up work and subcontract employees. Service providers can post tasks, which are accepted by online companies, and after completion of jobs, the service providers are paid thus eliminating the traditional labor structures. This turn of events means that physical firms will not exist, and in turn, there will be no need for a relationship between employers and employees.
Trade unions flourished in the age of the Industrial Revolution owing to an increase in employment opportunities and the need to protect workers from capitalist exploitation. The rise of the service sector is a challenge to trade unions in the US and the globalized society as it has led to deindustrialization. More and more workers are moving away from industrial jobs, which are demanding and attract lesser pay into the service sector, which seemingly has more manageable tasks and better pay packages. By 2017, the service sector employed more than 70 percent of all workers in developed countries against 16 percent in the industrial sector (Hayter and Visser, 2018). Developing counties have fewer industries meaning that about 70 percent of workers are in the agricultural sector and are ununionized. A focus on the agricultural and service sector and in turn, deindustrialization transforms and threatens trade unions as most union members hold jobs in the service sector. Neo-liberalization and globalization have helped to cause deindustrialization and, in turn, reduced the number of unionized employees in the US from 47% in 1980 to 17% in 2017 (Visser, 2019). The statistics may decrease further if the concerned stakeholders do not put measures in place to revive the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing sectors seem to attract unionization, as workers are keen on their safety as they work in a high-risk environment as compared to those in service sectors.
Labor relations in the US and the globalized society are facing a significant threat due to the disengagement of young workers who have replaced the older ones. Trade unions flourished in the mid-20 th century but this group of workers who popularized them has retired and their place has been taken up by more educated younger employees. Statistics indicate that young people are disengaged from trade unions leading to a decline in union density rates for knowledgeable younger workers (Ackers, 2015). This decline leaves space for an increase in the number of young workers with secondary and tertiary education. On the other hand, there is a significant decrease in the number of unskilled manual workers with elementary education in trade unions. At this point, it is essential to understand why young people are not keen on joining trade unions when they seem to offer better deals. Research indicates that high union membership fees could be one of the reasons why young workers are not joining trade unions (Durazzi, Fleckenstein, and Lee, 2018). The membership fees could be too high for young people who work in odd, temporary, part-time, and insecure and low-paying agency jobs. The problem here is the fact that trade unions exist to advance the cause of permanent employees who can afford to renew their membership fees.
Labor relations in America and the globalized society have continued to suffer owing to a change in trade unions’ composition over the last few decades. When the trade unions were first formed, they attracted more males as opposed to females considering they focused on the industrial sector. There has been a significant rise in trade unions with more females as compared to males in most countries and the numbers are still rising. Structural changes owing to deindustrialization caused more males to lose their jobs and in turn, left trade unions (Visser, 2019). The rise of commercial and social services base enterprises paved the way for more female employees and in turn, unionization. The trend is the same in developing counties in Asia and Africa, which thrive in informal sectors as industrialization is yet to take shape (Karreth, 2018). More women than men prefer employment in these sectors meaning that employment rates for men are still low. The unionization gap between men and women is widened by the fact that trade unions target informal sector workers who are mostly women. This gap, coupled with women empowerment, has placed women in a better position to thrive economically at the peril of males. Trade unions have a challenge of bringing a balance between males and female workers, something that does not seem natural or possible in the future.
Future Trends in Labor Relations in America and the Globalized Society
Labor relations in America and the globalized society must be reinvented so that they can match to the needs of the future labor market. As it is, it is evident that trade union membership is declining much faster due to new economic and human resource trends. Industrial relations structures will no longer define the future of labor relations but instead, Human Resource Management policies will do (Durazzi et al., 2018). These are the policies that organizations will adapt to deal with workplace issues such as training, teamwork, personnel systems and payment systems, most of which belonged to trade union dockets. Unionized enterprises will have a choice about how to use HRM policies either by facilitating their introduction or risk being phased out by these policies. According to Visser (2019), there is an indication that in the future industrial relations will be dependent on how employers and workers resolve their tensions. Employers and employees will have the option of using cooperation-based policies as established in HRM policies or enterprise-based elations involving trade unions and, in turn, collective bargaining. If the US and the global society is to deal with employment tensions, then there will need to be a hybridization of these two approaches, which should be viewed as complementary (Ackers, 2015). This kind of approach will ensure that trade unions' role is not undermined as they may be required to solve labor issues that are immune to cooperation-based HRM policies.
Trade unions have witnessed a decline in membership numbers in the last few decades owing to the challenges mentioned above in the domestic and global markets. If they have to survive in the future, they have to match their processes and activities to future trends. Trade unions will need to grow their declining membership numbers by moving their focus away from large enterprises known for mass production. In particular, in future trade unions need to target small and medium-sized enterprises workers, informal and part-time workers as well as workers in the service sector (Benassi and Vlandas, 2016). Trade unions aware of the need to align themselves with future trends have come with various approaches to achieve these goals. Employers and trade unions should provide new services namely supplementary social benefits job networks and advisory services for employees. According to Durazzi et al. (2018), trade unions will need to recruit more young and female members who work in SMEs, unemployed individuals, as well as informal sector workers if trade unions are to have an increase in the membership numbers they have to be less rigid in their operations. They can no longer base their processes and activities on the traditional structure that they used in the 20 th century.
The future is ripe with opportunities for trade unions that need to revolutionize labor relations in this decade and the decades to come. Trade unions will be required to expand their international cooperation despite cultural differences and legal barriers in existence. If trade unions have to increase their membership, they have to target workers in informal sectors. Currently, most of the informal sectors are found in developing countries, and they constitute about 70 percent of all workers (Ackers, 2015). This number is a significant number that can reinvent trade unions and ensure that their role is not taken over by online platforms. However, for trade unions to achieve this objective, they have to develop international ties with target countries to access these workers. Trade unions will need to participate in international forums that discuss the welfare of workers as well as increase direct international contacts. Of importance, here is the need for a trade union to forge new alliances with grassroots organizations such as consumer groups and NGOs. These organizations are crucial as their objectives are aligned to those of trade unions and employers (Visser, 2019). It is important to note that these new alliances will help trade organizations to find effective ways of dealing with trade policies, human rights development, and environmental conservation.
Factors that will Influence Unionization in the US and the Globalized Society
Unionization in the United States and global society is dependent on various factors, which are capable of promoting or reducing its relevance. Social, political, and economic factors are considered the most important predictors and determinants of unionization. Labor analysts cite the importance of economic factors in current financial trends where low-wage countries increase international competition. Most of these low-wage countries focus on the manufacturing sector, which paves the way for a more traditional form of trade unions, which are bureaucratic and rigid. Such states tend to have high trade union memberships, which hampers their response to new global economic landscapes (Benassi and Vlandas, 2016). These counties depend on various political and social factors when it comes to determining labor unionization densities. Countries with underlying political and social factors that emphasize on collective rather than individual rights are not likely to yield to economic pressures. On the other hand, countries with high unionization densities may adjust to new economic realities in spite of there being underlying social and political factors. This factor is significant as it helps in explaining how labor laws and unions will respond to global economic changes.
Unionization in the sense of their rise and fall is impacted by major global events such as unemployment rates and wars. For instance, the US witnessed an increase in the number of union membership during World War I and World War II, as well as the final years of the Great Depression (Hayter and Visser, 2018). Companies that plan to make plans to invest in international markets ought to consider the implication of such a factor for their employees who will join trade unions. This proposition is true primarily if these economies are investing in countries with political instability or high levels of poverty, as these could be challenging (Karreth, 2018). In the case of the US, the convergence of major economic and historical events as aforementioned helped in boosting union density rates (Ackers, 2015). However, the same numbers can begin to decline if employees or workers feel that their country will be politically or economically stable. Companies that are planning to invest in politically volatile countries need to know there might be an upsurge of trade union membership as employees hope to improve their lives. In the same breath, employees from such a country may engage in mass strikes, walkouts, and sit-ins regularly to force employers to improve their welfare.
Demographics are another factor that has the capability of influencing unionization in both the US and the globalized society. Trade unions tend to target a particular type of worker to enhance their sustainability, but they may be forced to adjust this practice to match with a changing workforce. The work environment is becoming more diverse with women and members from minority races and cultures joining the workforce. Trade unions, therefore, have no option but to expand their recruitment to these individuals as they are about to make a considerable percentage of the workforce (Visser, 2019). Moreover, trade unions need to factor the fact that workers are shifting to service sectors from manufacturing sectors, which formed the basis for these unions in the past. In this case, trade unions must focus their attention on coming up with more aggressive labor tactics that target young people, women and workers from ethnic or racial minorities. According to Acker (2015), trade unions must expand their membership scope to include knowledge workers, service workers as well as temporary workers. While these workers may not have been in the traditionally oriented trade unions, they make significant contributions to the economy. Trade unions that are set to recruit these workers must understand their demographics such as age gender, ethnic or racial affiliation as these determine whether they will join or not (Durazzi, Fleckenstein, and Lee, 2018). For instance, studies have shown that men are more likely to oppose trade unions as compared to men and that single workers may favor unionization as compared to couples. An analysis of demographic factors as they relate to political, social, and economic factors will determine unionization trends.
Conclusion
The future of trade unions in the US and the globalization society seems brink considering the historical trends in union membership densities. Back in 1935, when the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA) was enacted, a high number of industrial-based workers signed up in the hope of better labor relations. The numbers continued to rise during the Second World War and Great Recession with workers hoping to be cushioned against harsh social, political, and economic realities. However, in the following decades, trade union membership reduced significantly leaving only a small percentage of unionized workers. The traditional labor market, which was manufacturing-based, has been replaced by the service sector, which is highly unregulated. The service sector has eliminated most employees and replaced them with digital technologies and robotics reducing the need for unions. If trade unions are to survive into the future, they have to shift from industrial employment as these are being phased out and recruit from the service sector. It is imperative to focus on women, young persons and ethnic or racial minorities who comprise the most significant number of workers. Moreover, trade unions need to cross national borders and recruit from other countries especially those that thrive in the informal sector. In this way, unions will be able to match with modern trends that are inescapable thanks to globalization and technological development.
References
Ackers, P. (2015). Trade unions as professional associations. In S. Johnstone, and P. Ackers (Eds.) Finding a Voice at Work? New Perspectives on Employment Relations (pp. 95-126). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Benassi. & C., Vlandas, T. (2016). Union inclusiveness and temporary agency workers: The role of power resources and union ideology. European Journal of Industrial Relations , 22(1), 5–22.
Durazzi, N., Fleckenstein, T., & Lee, S.C. (2018). Social solidarity for all? Trade union strategies, labor market dualization, and the welfare state in Italy and South Korea. Politics & Society , 46 (2), 205–233.
Hayter, S., & Visser, J. (Eds.) (2018). Collective Agreements: Extending Labor Protection. Geneva: International Labor Organization.
Karreth, A. K. 2018. Schools of democracy: how trade union membership impacts political participation in Africa’s emerging democracies, Democratization , 25(1), 158-177.
Visser, J. (2019). Trade Unions in the Balance: ILO ACTRAV Working Paper . Geneva: International Labor Organization.
