THE DECLINE IN TRADE UNION MEMBERSHIP

The Decline in Trade Union Memberships

The Decline in Trade Union Memberships

Introduction

Unionisation has a variety of economic effects on employers. In general, productivity of unionized workers is higher than that of non-union workers in manufacturing and construction but not in the service sector. Union members earn a substantial pay premium. Where unions have negotiated wage and benefit improvements, employers generally pass these along to unorganized workers as well. Thus, the cost of unionisation is not fully related to unionized workers only. Studies of stock price changes associated with unionisation and de-unionisation generally find that share prices fall at a higher-than-expected rate when unionisation or attempts to unionize occur. Trade Unions are organisations of employees that aim to maintain and improve its members' wages and conditions. Trade unions represent their members' interests by collective bargaining with employers, participating in compulsory arbitration and lobbying governments. The term is anachronistic as few Australian unions are trade based today.

Discussion

The earliest forms of trade union in Australia were the benevolent and trade societies set up in the 1830s and 1840s. By the 1880s these had developed into trade unions more or less along modern lines. The maritime strikes of the early 1890s and the resultant repressive employer and government measures galvanised the union movement, demonstrating the need for central organisation, collective action, a national union body, and some form of arbitration to settle disputes. As a result, the labour parties were formed, eventually culminating in the formation of the Australian Labour Party. In 1927 the Australian Council of Trade Unions was established. (Montgomery 2007, 92)

Most modern unions have three levels of organisation - the `shop floor', the regional or state level, and a national executive. Many are affiliated to the ALP and most to the ACTU. The 1980s and 1990s have been marked by a trend towards larger and fewer trade unions (formed by amalgamations) and by a decline in union membership, particularly in the private sector. In 1995 there were 157 trade unions in Australia, compared with 323 in 1985, and 35 per cent of the total work force were union members, compared with 50 per cent in 1982. (Robert 2003, 125-126)

Among most Western European countries, trade unionism declined until late in the twentieth century; France, which had a low density before 1980, was the worst affected. In 2002 French trade unionism had a density of only 8%, while the reunited Germany's trade unionism level was at 22%, and the Netherlands had a density of 21%. At the start of the twenty-first century, trade union membership went up not only in Spain but also in Greece (a density of 25% in 2002), Italy (37%), Luxembourg (45%), and Belgium (58%). In 2002 trade union densities also remained high in Ireland (38%), Austria (40%), Finland (75%), Sweden (78%), and Denmark (80%). (Flanagan 2005, 33-63)

Decline of Trade Unions

The 1980s was a decade of accelerating decline for organized Labour as economic changes, coupled with employer and governmental initiatives, surprised unions and ...