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This is a broad assessment of the institutional health of the 28 major national unions in the United States. The membership in the unions and the financial and political resources are examined specifically from 1979 through 1993. The focus on this era is because it contains the 1980s--a time when the unions were assailed from several positions. The fundamental idea in this work is that the resources of the union affect their capacities to undertake a variety of activities, and that the unions have a great deal of institutional strength which is likely to ensure their existence in the future.
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UNIONS AT THE CROSSROADS This page intentionally left blank UNIONS AT THE CROSSROADS Strategic Membership, Financial, and Political Perspectives Marick F. Masters Q QUORUM BOOKS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Masters, Marick Francis, 1954— Unions at the crossroads : strategic membership, financial, and political perspectives / by Marick F. Masters, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-56720-129-6 (alk. paper) 1. Trade-unions—United States. 2. Trade-unions—United States— Membership. 3. Trade-unions—United States—Finance. 4. Tradeunions—United States—Political activity. 5. Industrial relations—United States. 6. Labor policy—United States. 7. Labor laws and legislation—United States. I. Title. HD6508.M353 1997 331.88*0973—dc21 96-40912 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 1997 by Marick F. Masters All rights reserved. N o portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-40912 ISBN: 1-56720-129-6 First published in 1997 Quorum Books, 88 Post Road West, Westport, C T 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America T h e paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z3 9.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 This book is dedicated to my wonderfulfamily— Sally, Christopher, Jacquelyn, Julie Ann, Catherine, and Jennifer This page intentionally left blank Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction ix xiii xv 1 1 Strategic Perspectives on Union Resources: H u m a n , Finantttcial, and Political Capital 21 2 Union Density and Membership 43 3 Major Union Membership Trends 63 4 The Financial Capital of Unions 73 5 How Unions Raise and Spend Money 89 6 The Financial Performance of Unions 107 7 Union PolitAical Capital and the Legal Enactment Strategy 117 8 Union Profiles 133 9 Baseline Union Budgets: Implications for Representational Services and Bargaining Clout 141 10 Strategic Union Resource Allocations 157 11 Union Growth Scenarios and Mergers 173 12 Strategies for Union Growth 185 viii Contents 13 The Future of U.S. Unions 203 Bibliography 209 Index 227 Illustrations TABLES LI Twenty-eight Major Unions' Membership 2.1 Aggregate Union Density Rates and Membership 2.2 Comparative Union Density Rates 2.3 Union Membership and Density by Major Industry Classifications 2.4 Union Membership and Density by Major Occupational Classifications 2.5 Union Membership and Density by Major Demographic Classifications 13 44 47 48 49 50