WorkerVoice

Why modernization is necessary to raise wages and boost productivity

From the worker perspective, this structure means that although unions may care about a broad group of workers, the law pushes them to bargain for only the particular group of workers they represent rather than negotiating to improve conditions for all workers in an industry or a region.34 The ability of unions to represent a broad group of workers is further limited because the law prevents many kinds of workers from joining unions. Many workers in new business arrangements, such as the gig economy, cannot join unions because workers classified as independent contractors rather than employees are ruled out under the law, as are domestic workers and managers, among others.35 The exclusion of so many workers exacerbates the problem of fragmentation inherent in firm-level bargaining: The omission of many workers and firm-level bargaining mean that unions can negotiate for only a relatively narrow portion of the workforce and can be pushed away from advocating for the needs of all workers.

Full text : click here