 Union Organizing and Collective Bargaining at a Critical Moment:
Opportunities for Renewal or Continued Decline?
Edited by Howard R. Stanger, Paul F. Clark, and John T. Delaney
Union decline over the past 50 years is due to a number of factors that have negatively reinforced each other. Notable factors include structural shifts in the economy, employer opposition, weak labor laws, legislation that has substituted for union protection, the growth of human resources, and the inability of unions to respond to institutional threats with new and successful organizing and political strategies. But a number of contemporary developments suggest a revival of interest in unions. Before COVID, workers experienced less input than they expected and desired. Because unions are the main mechanism for providing workers with a greater voice in the workplace, this voice gap provides an opportunity for union growth.
The voice and representation gap is evident in the many organizing drives taking place in previously unorganized sectors, such as fast food, retail, warehouses, high tech, and digital media. Unions, union organizing, and collective bargaining may finally see a change in fortune after decades of stagnation and decline.
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Save the date for the LERA 77th Annual Meeting, June 12-15, 2025 in Seattle, Wash.
