The Foreclosure Climate is Encouraging an Increase in Union Membership

February 6th, 2009 | Tags: Foreclosure

For the second running year union membership has increased by 12.4% - most probably in response to the insecurity of the foreclosure climate the country is experiencing. The number of organized labour force increased by 428,000 last year (2008) – it being the biggest jump since the government has stating keeping data since 1983. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated this. In 2007 there were 311,000 members in unions accounting for 12.1% of the workers.

However the membership of union remains much below the height of 35% reached during the heydays of the 50’s. In 1983 the membership was approximately 20%. This was the first year that the statistical bureau started to compile numbers.

In recent years the tone of the unions have become more aggressive. This is understandable against a loss of 2.6 million jobs in 2008. One of the largest is the Teamsters Union. Its efforts at organized action bore fruit by making it possible for 43,000 workers to rejoin in the last year.

Gary Chaison of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts specializes in labour matters. He said that the figures show that a decline in union membership has stopped. He said, “I think the unions are still vulnerable. It’s almost as if they’ve settled down, but there really hasn’t been any major growth spurt yet.”

Most of the increases were in the public sector unions in 2008. The rate of government workers having union membership increased to 35.9% from 36.8%. The figures in the private sector unions remained at a level and crawled up from 7.5% in 2007 to 7.6% in 2008.

Congress is toying with the idea of passing a law that will make it easy for workers to form unions. If this happens then the unions are hopeful of resurgence. The law – The Employee Free Choice Act would provide workers with the choice of forming a union in a simple manner by signing a card or submitting a petition. Currently secret ballot elections are held.

The House had passed the Bill in 2007 but it could not stand up to the opposition of the Republicans in the Senate. But there is hope now with Democrats having expanded their numbers. 60 votes are required to break the hurdle.

The business circles are lobbying against the bill. Their argument is that with the removal of the secret ballot system the workers will be exposed to the bullying tactics of the unions.