Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved Organized Labor Today Union membership –Approx. 15.5% of the nation’s workers belong to unions –AFL-CIO The largest union with approx 9 million members Includes actors, barbers, construction workers, carpenters, retail clerks, musicians, teachers, postal workers, painters, steel and iron workers, firefighters, bricklayers, newspaper reporters –Teamsters Independent labor organization with approx 1.4 million members –United Auto Workers (UAW) Represents employees in the automobile industry with approx 640,000 members Part of AFL-CIO 11 | 1

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved Organized Labor Today (cont’d) Membership trends –Union membership has declined steadily since 1980 –Heavily unionized industries have been decreasing or not growing as fast as nonunionized industries –Firms have moved from unionized areas (Northeast, Great Lakes region) to less unionized areas (Southeast, Southwest) –Largest employment growth is in service industries, which are typically not unionized –Some companies are moving manufacturing to other (less unionized) countries –Management is providing benefits that reduce employees’ need for unionization 11 | 2

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved Organized Labor Today (cont’d) Union-management partnerships –The adversarial nature of past union-management relations has given way to limited cooperative partnerships between unions and companies Companies gain increased productivity, improved quality, and reduced costs Workers gain increased response to their needs, more decision-making opportunities, less supervision, more responsibility, and increased job security Unions gain credibility, strength, and increased membership 11 | 3