Unit 2 concepts and topics

¶ … private labor union enrollment has substantially decreased, public sector unionization remains robust. According to Chapter 2 of the text Collective bargaining in education: Negotiating change in today's schools Henry S. Farber points out that while in the private sector only 8.2% of the population is unionized, more than 37% of public sector workers are unionized (Faber 27). Unionization has substantially declined in the private sector, while unionization amongst all workers in the public sector has substantially increased.

One reason for this is reduced demand for the highly skilled 'blue collar' workers in the modern industrial era that formed the backbone of the modern labor movement. Also, it has become far easier for companies to re-locate in 'right to work' states or abroad. In contrast, public functions of government cannot be so easily outsourced -- New Jersey, a state with one of the strongest unions in the country, cannot outsource the education of its children to China. Efforts to reduce the public employment population may encompass the use of outside contractors or providing funding for children to go to boarding school, but the economic model of 'breaking' the union by using alternative sources of labor remains more difficult to implement in the public sector. With the growth of the population, demand for services and public workers substantially and steadily increases (Faber 36).

The U.S. has also shifted to a more 'white collar' dominated nation, in terms of highly-skilled workers. The skilled blue collar workers with specialized skills who had leverage to unite against their employers are now increasingly being replaced by low-skilled, replaceable service workers with little leverage. Members of public sector unions also tend to be more highly educated, articulate in their beliefs, and more open to engage with the political landscape to advance their interests. Because public sector workers are largely irreplaceable in terms of the functions they fulfill, they have considerable leverage in bargaining. They also stand to receive more from collective bargaining arrangements, because they are often negotiating with public officials who have a direct role in allocating funds for projects and salaries, versus the private sector, where wages and demand for labor is highly influenced by consumer demand. Private sector employees also know if that if they bargain too hard, the competitive nature of their organization may be compromised.

In Chapter 2 of the text Local government labor relations: A guide for public administrators entitled "Bargaining unit determination" by Joan E. Pynes and Joan M. Lafferty, the authors detail the nature of collective bargaining agreements. Employees who the LMRA requires to have separate representation (such as professional workers); individuals excluded from the definition of employee (such as children and spouses); employees who do not regularly perform the type of work of the bargaining unit; and employees whose interests are more closely aligned with management (such as supervisors, traditionally defined as workers with the power to hire, demote, and direct or workers who are closely associated with the managers who set labor policy, including secretaries) are all traditionally excluded from collective bargaining (Pynes & Lafferty 15-16; 23).