QUESTION

1. Why do words like “organized labor”, “unions”, and the “Labor Movement†, seemed like vestiges from a bygone era?
   2. What has caused the steady decline of unionization in the private sector since the post-World War II boom?
   3. UNITE HERE has declared that it would not organize the “old fashion way†. What are the old fashion approaches to unionization and why are they no longer desirable?
   4. What is the “Change to Win†organizing strategy?
   5. What role has globalization played in the changing opportunities and threats faced by union organizations?
   6. Why would an employer ever agree to a neutrality agreement?
   7. If you were a hotel operator could you have avoided the summer of 2006 situation? Do unions negatively affect service?

                                                           SAMPLE SOLUTION

The Summer of 2006 Union Negotiations: Unite Here’s Strategy

Organized Labour/Labour Movements/Unions

In North America, the phrases organized labour, labour movements, and unions seemed like vestiges form the bygone era because of the decline in their influence in the private sector in the American business. Prior to the 2000s, the activities of the labour movements and unions in America had reached peak of their national power with their influence being felt far and wide. Union leaders during this peak period were well known and as powerful as senators or Members of the House of Representatives. Unions enjoyed very high membership with most hotels being unionized. Union membership was at its peak in the 1950s reaching 35 percent of the U.S workforce. However, there has been a steady decline since then with only 13.7 percent of private sector workers being unionized currently (Enz, 2010).

Decline of Unionization in the Private Sector

The decline in the proportion of private sector workers in union organizations is attributed to two divergent trends. First, there is the steep fall in the percentage of private wage and salary workers who were organized. The second reason is the sharp rise in the percentage of the public workers who were organized (Tufts, 2009). As a result, unionism became less prevalent and qualitatively divergent than during the immediate pre-World War II period.