Unions aren’t the political powerhouses they once were

By Evan Horowitz GLOBE STAFF  

MAY 19, 2016

Charges of “union-related extortion” have struck Boston’s city hall, with the first arrest of an official raising questions about how far up the ladder the indictments may ultimately go.

But if talk of union corruption conjures memories of Jimmy Hoffa, Robert Kennedy, and the fight to expose links with organized crime, a lot has changed since the 1950s.

Unions, once a powerful force, have lost their central place in the American economy. At the height of their influence in the mid-20th century, labor unions represented about 1 of every 3 American workers. Today, it’s 1 in 9 — and falling.

While that shrinking size and waning influence may have limited the opportunites for corruption, and perhaps made the US economy more flexible and dynamic, there’s mounting evidence that it is also contributing to slow wage growth and the rise in inequality.

Who are these union members?

While union membership has fallen to just 11 percent of US workers, that’s still 14.8 million people — more than twice the population of Massachusetts.

Variations abound when you break the numbers down by race, gender, and geography. There are more union men then union women, and a higher percentage of blacks than whites. Public sector workers are five times more likely to join unions than their private-sector counterparts, and workers in New York are 12 times more likely to do so than workers in South Carolina.

Why has union membership fallen so far?

It’s really a tale of two sectors, the public and the private.

Public-sector unions — meaning those that represent local, state, and federal government employees — have been pretty stable. In 1985, 36 percent of public sector workers were in unions, virtually the same rate we see today.

By contrast, private sector unions have been decimated. Their membership numbers have fallen over 50 percent since 1984, partly in response to globalization and partly as a result of various legal changes that have curtailed unions’ ability to organize.

Is it also because of falling support for unions?

Surprisingly, no. Going back to 1985, the Pew Research Center has been asking people whether they have a favorable view of unions. And though the numbers do fluctuate a bit, 40-60 percent of people consistently say they support unions while 35-45 percent say they don’t.

Are unions faring any better here in Massachusetts?

While Massachusetts’s unions are stronger than average, it’s not among the most heavily unionized states. That honor goes to New York, where 1 in every 4 workers belongs to a union. After New York, there are 13 other states with higher union membership rates then Massachusetts.

Does it matter that unions are in decline?

Unions increase the bargaining power of workers, which translates into higher earnings and a stronger voice for employees.

The big economic critique of unions is that while they may help members, they actually hurt other workers. By interfering with the natural operations of the economy, they push wages above their normal level, heighten inflation, and make it difficult for companies to hire and fire workers as needed.

On the other hand, recent research has traced a direct line between the fall of unions and some of the foremost problems in the US economy, including rising inequality and stagnant wages. As unions have lost power, income has increasingly flowed to the top 10 percent of earners.