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How to Boost Unions’ Power? Sectoral Bargaining.
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Oct. 22, 2020 | LABOR UNIONS | In 1980 about a tenth of workers were covered by multi-employer agreements that set industry-wide standards, especially workers in steel, auto, trucking, construction and mining. What happened? An onslaught of deregulation and anti-union attacks reversed those gains. Unions simply lack the power and membership to organize entire sectors and industries. Sectoral or multi-employer bargaining does exist — in heavily unionized industries, like hospitality — but, mostly, unions negotiate wages and improve conditions at one individual worksite at a time. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act would remove some of the major difficulties faced by union organizers and passed in the House earlier this year. It now waits in the Senate. Like so much else, its chance of becoming law any time soon greatly depends on who wins in November. If it does pass, unions can begin the process of rebuilding their bargaining power from the bottom up… In These Times [Note: The Teamsters Union has national master agreements in the freight, warehouse, and passenger transportation industries, among others.]
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