20th Century Labor History: The Decline Of Union Memberships

392 Words2 Pages
A large part of the 20th century labor history is remembered as the unionized years, and since 1983 when union memberships were at approximately 20% of the workforce, as of 2013, they are only at about 11%. Numerous factors have contributed to the decline of union memberships; however, the decline has been in motion for approximately 60 years, and the main circumstance surrounding the drop is the decrease of blue-collar jobs, increasingly being replaced by service-sector and white-collar service jobs. Economic factors such as international competition and increased globalization have also extended the pressures to cut costs, boost productivity, and improve efficiency, often at the expense of sending jobs overseas. Another direct influence of