Current Trends in Union Membership

Current trends in union membership

In unions there are trends prevalent to membership. One membership trend is that of agricultural. Though this category is not officially recorded in union numbers the agricultural industry has a small presence. This trend is growing more, especially with an increase in immigrants. Another trend is a reduction in membership because of the decrease of available jobs in union companies. As the number of jobs decrease in the major union companies like the automobile industry, there will also be a decline in union support. Additionally, over the past 82 years the union membership has seen a slow decline. Where unions were once the major driving force for workers support, the shift is on HR departments handling matters more important to the well-being of employees. Owners, on their own, are noticing the importance of taking care of employees. At the same time employees realize his or her capability to negotiate a fair contract for themselves. The HR movement has opened the door to how employee's benefits are put to the forefront by owners without the need for a union.

Current growth in union membership

Unfortunately for unions, there is no growth in union memberships. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012), "the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union - was 11.8 percent, essentially unchanged from 11.9 percent in 2010." The number of membership is at 14.8 million in which membership was 17.7 million in 1983 when the first comparable figures were available. Education, training, and government employees remain the highest unionized group with no change. The biggest growth in union membership during the past 29 years is with women. Men at one point had a 10 percentage point advantage over women, but the gap is narrow. The union membership rate for men declined by almost half, down 12.3%, whiles the rate for women declined by 3.4%.

Organizing process for a labor union to enter a nonunion company

The enactment of the National Relations Act gives employees the right to form or join labor unions and participate in collective bargaining. The best part of the law is the provision to prevent employers from coercing or intimidating employees not to join a union. To organize successfully a labor union it takes careful planning, and a unity among fellow coworkers. The first step is for an employee in an organization to speak directly with other employees about organizing a union. If there is interest the employees should develop an organizing committee and select a national union to help in setting the plan in motion. This union will assist in the organizing committee. Ensure the committee represents at least 10 percent of the employees. Next the committee will need to gather support from other employees. Discuss with them the