Mngt 408 Exam 1 - Why Has Union Density Declined So Sharply in the Private Sector? Is This Good or Bad?

Why has union density declined so sharply in the private sector? Is this good or bad?

There are 3 large and controversial possibilities that may have affected the decline of union density in the private sector. Declining employment is the first. Structural changes, such demographic shifts, employment growth in the southern states, women entering the work force more frequently, and increases in education and skill, explain a part of the decline in the private sector. Another possibility simply lies on the demand for union services. The demand for unions decreasing depends on three components. The first explains that demand is declining because unions are not responding to the changing labor force and have been overcome by negative stereotypes. The second addresses the employers. They have improved responding to the employees needs, thus reducing the demand for union protection. Thirdly, legislation may be replacing the need for union protection. The Civil Rights Act and The Equal Pay Act both forbid discrimination of employees. The final possible reason for the U.S. decline of union density looks at employer resistance. Many U.S. businesses are aggressive toward unions and try to avoid them. In fact, most U.S. companies will invest in nonunion operations. While a decline in the private sector may not seem good to the private sector, overall, union membership has been stable even with the decline due to the increase in public sector membership.

Think of jobs you have had. What was undesirable about those jobs? Was the pay too low? Hours too long? Were you treated poorly? Which of the four schools of thought presented in chapter 2 best explains the causes of these undesirable aspects? What would you try to do to redress these undesirable features?

The company I worked for has a cost leadership strategy. I worked part time as a stocker, even though I applied and interviewed for a cashier position. I was told that within 2 weeks, I would be running the cash register. Months came and went, and I was working Monday through Saturday from 4 A.M. to 2 P.M. to completely re-layout the store meaning products had to be removed, stored, inventoried, and replaced on the shelves. The hours were long; the work included heavy lifting, and the management was rude, angry, and disrespectful. I was treated more like a slave then a coworker and was not being paid for the amount of work I had to do. Often, I would stay for hours after I was supposed to because the employee who was supposed to take my shift had called in. After finally quitting, I found out that the store had a high turnover rate due to the disrespectful managers. Due to this, I believe that The Human Resource Management School of thought reflects my story. This school believes that “the labor problem stems from poor management” and I wholeheartedly agree. If I had been treated better, I would have worked harder and stayed with the company