Late Capitalism and the Decline of Trade Union Power in the United States

The power of organized labor in the United States, measured by union representation in the labor force, political influence in Congress, and by public support for trade unions, has been in decline for two decades. During the 1980s a historic shift in political, economic and social power in favor of large corporations has altered the configuration of American society. As a result, a number of Business Administration faculties and industrial relations specialists believe that a new American industrial relations system may be emerging that will eliminate unions altogether or at least make organized labor irrelevant as an influence on the American social order. This article traces the causes and effects of the erosion of union power in the United States and suggests that no decisive gains by American workers in the direction of economic and industrial democracy can be expected in the absence of a strong labor movement. A new cooperative era of industrial relations is not at hand.