With the exception of some countries (such as those in North Europe), the trade unions’ membership numbers have continuously dropped in the last three decades. Choosing a country of your preference as example, explain the reason(s) of this phenomenon.
(Solved Homework): With the exception of some countries (such as those in North Europe), the trade unions’ membership numbers have
Expert Answer
Trade union membership numbers have dropped dramatically over last three decades in many rich countries.. From a peak of 20m members in 1979 they fell to 14.9m in 2015 in America and from 12m to 6.5m in Britain. European countries including Germany and France see a sharp decline in membership.
There are several major trends that have contributed in decline in union membership, these are as follows:
* Global competition and deregulation in traditionally unionized industries
* Changes in American economy and workforce demographics: the fast increasing workforce including mostly women, part time workers and temporary employees has proven to be difficult for unions to involve. Changing from manufacturing sector to service sector and increased in white collar jobs present challenges to unions.
* Federal employment laws supplanting traditional roles of unions
* Workers are less interested in unionization than before as workers wants to present their issues directly.
