The Rise and Decline of Unions

Abstract:     
Union membership, as a percentage of the private sector workforce, has been in decline for 50 years. The cause of this unrelenting decline is a single, fundamental factor: the change in the United States economy from a corporatist-regulated economy to one based on free competition. Unions are central to a corporatist regime and are peripheral in a liberal pluralist regime.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 7

Keywords: the rise and decline of unions, michael wachter, unions, union membership, private sector workforce, declines, corporatist, regulated economy, free competition, liberal, liberal pluralist, NIRA, NRA, industry regulation, public interest, deregulation, labor law, corporate law

JEL Classification: A13, D21, D74, H11, J39, J50, J51, J52, J53, J58

Accepted Paper Series