Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

F6, Walmart, does stand against the welfare of the ordinary citizen.

"It is a militantly anti-union company that has been forced to pay hundreds of millions
of dollars to current and former employees for violations of state wage and hour laws."

In other words, the patriarchy of old has been reconfigured into a more systematically authoritarian structure ... [...]

There used to be a remedy for this sort of managerial authoritarianism: it was called a union, which
bargained over not only wages and pensions but also the kind of qualitative issues, including promotion and
transfer policies, that have proved so vexing for non-unionized employees at Wal-Mart and other big retailers. [...]

The rules governing organizing are the focus of a power struggle between unions and employers after decades of
declining union membership. Only 6.9% of private sector workers belonged to unions in 2010, and just 11.9%
of all U.S. workers, according to the Labor Department. In 1983, unions represented 20.1% of all workers.

Just out of interest .. Australia .. Union membership on the rise
Chris Zappone .. April 17, 2009

Australian union membership posted its first increase in three years in 2008.

Total union membership rose to 1.8 million workers last year, up 3% from the 1.7 million in 2007, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Reflecting organised labour's hobbled growth after a decade under pressure from Prime Minister John Howard's industrial relations overhauls, last year saw the first increase in the total number of union members since 2005, when the WorkChoices legislation came into effect.

"Of course with Work Choices, the playing field was tilted against unions," said Dr Brigid van Wanrooy of the Workplace Research Centre.

"But it also brought a lot of attention to unions," she said. "Maybe that’s why union rates have stabilised."

The increase in the growth of the workforce over the same period, however, means the proportion organised workers remained steady at 19% in 2008, unchanged from 2007, the ABS said.

More than four out of 10 public sector workers were union members last year, while only 14% of private sector workers were, the ABS said.

In addition to the set-back to recruitment caused by WorkChoices, unions had been slow to respond to the changing Australian economy, which has moved away from manufacturing and into the services sector.

Doctor van Wanrooy said it was hard to say whether unions would be able to increase their numbers more significantly in coming years.

"We’ve got see how the new industrial relations legislation plays out," she said, referring to the Fair Work Bill passed into law last month.

"We know the new Fair Work act is very focused on collective bargaining," Doctor van Wanrooy said.

The global financial crisis may drive more employees to unions, she said.

"As people start to feel more insecure about their jobs they may see more of a role for unions," she said.

As unemployment rises, however, it may erode union membership as well, she said. The jobless rate is currently 5.4% and expected to rise, possibly into double digits, by the end of 2010, as the downturn forces more people out of work.

ACTU: still relevant? .. link added here .. http://www.actu.org.au/

"This data shows unions are still relevant and strong,” said Australian Council of Trade Unions President Sharan Burrow in a statement.

Ms Burrow noted the gains came despite WorkChoices being in effect at the time.

''In these tough economic times it is especially important for workers to be members of a union," she said.

The ACTU pointed to the data showing on average, union members earn $96 more a week than non-members, according to the ABS data.

In a separate measure, factoring in people who ‘did not know’ whether they were in a union, the average weekly difference was $78 a week.

Tasmania most unionised

Tasmania ranked as the state with the highest proportion of unionised workers with 25%, while Western Australia was the lowest with 14%, the ABS said.

Machine operators were the workers most likely to be covered by collective bargaining, with 28%, followed by professionals with 25%, and community and personal service workers, of which 23% were in unions.

Of industry groups, teachers and trainers had the highest proportion of members in unions, 40%, followed by the public administration and safety officials with 34%.

The scientific and technical services industry had the slimmest proportion of unionised workers at 4%.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/union-membership-on-the-rise-20090417-a9ks.html