Can the Unions Come Back?

Most observers would note that airline Unions have been suffering from loss of membership and power -- even more so in the last few years where strong-arming by the Airlines under the protection of bankruptcy has led to lost jobs and pay cuts. Some are saying that the days of the Unions have passed, that they have lost the ability to effectively bargain with companies. But that just may change. The New York Times published an article on Tuesday, June 19 titled Clash Nears in the Senate on Legislation Helping Unions Organize. In it, Steven Greenhouse shares that Senate Democratic leaders moved to force a vote on organized labor's top legislative priority -- a bill that would make it far easier to organize workers. If the bill becomes law as currently written, employees at a workplace would be able to unionize as soon as they have a majority of signed cards saying they want to do so. Under current law, employers can insist on a secret ballot election, even after a majority of employees sign cards. Union officials see passage of this bill as a vital step towards "reversing the decline in membership and might." As can be expected, support in the Senate is split between party lines with Democrat leaders trying to push the legislation forward and Republican leaders vowing to kill the measure. So, what do you think of the proposal? Is it a step in the right direction? Can it help bring strength back to organized labor? Or, have the days of Union strength come and gone. We welcome your feedback. To read the full text of the article, click here. Thanks for reading! Joe Escobar