Unions are dying, and that is a measureable fact. Today, only 7% of the American workforce is a member of a union, down from 35% just a few decades ago. But it this good, or bad?
The strict capitalist will say it is good, because unions disrupt the free market. Because of unions, they say, the market cannot set the true price of labor, and thus, the owner-class has to artificially inflate the cost of goods. The moderate capitalist will respond by saying that unions prevent a downward spiral. The owner class wants to pay the worker the lowest wage possible. Thus, the worker will work more and more cheaply, in more and more dangerous working conditions, until finally there is no middle class left that can afford any goods and services. In the end, then, everyone, including those in the owner class, ends up poor.
I believe that the second argument is correct. I think that there is good evidence that the existence of collective bargaining saved capitalism from itself during much of the 20th century.
However, it does not follow that because unions were important in the past that they will always be important. I don’t have studies or statistics, but I do have my own experience to share. In between undergrad and grad school, I worked for a small business that manufactured and sold chemical cleaning products. There were about 75 full time employees, and no one thought about unionizing – we just didn’t need to. The owners of the company were extremely concerned about employee safety, and we were given a decent wage, medical benefits, educational opportunities, and a 401K.
I think that this is because the owners of that business knew that if they didn’t offer those things, the talented employees would simply go work somewhere else. But this opportunity has not always existed for people (and in some cases and in some areas of the country and the world, it still doesn’t exist). For example, 50 years ago, it probably would have been too complicated (socially, economically, and otherwise) for the metal worker unhappy with his compensation package simply to pick up and move to a different area of the country.
Today, however, the world is mobile. People change jobs and even careers all the time because they are unhappy with their current job. This forces the owner class to provide safe, comfortable working conditions and decent wages. So, while I disagree strongly with the strict capitalists that unions undermine capitalism, I don’t know if we still need them.
Any liberals more educated on the subject than I want to educate me about why I'm wrong here?
