PUBLIC-SECTOR UNIONIZATION IN 1995 OR IT APPEARS THE LION KING HAS EATEN ROBIN HOOD

ROBERT P. ENGVALL

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DOI: 10.2190/GGP0-LTJX-AN5M-42DM

Abstract

The labor movement as a whole operates today in a very hostile environment. The institution of collective bargaining itself seems vulnerable, as unions have declined dramatically in size and strength--to the point of near irrelevance in many of the growth sectors of the economy where alternative personnel management strategies appear very congenial to worker interests and aspirations. The increasing dominance of the market society and conservative social policy naturally begets a decline in unionism, as the concepts differ in purposes and fundamental values. This article addresses the declining status of unions, however natural, amid the growing popularity of conservative thought and government, and stands for the proposition that a return to the values in which unionism flourished would better serve the future of this country than the presently favored alternative in which personal responsibility is emphasized to the detriment of social responsibility. The present anti-union and individualist populism is harmful to our society as both short-sighted and based on erroneous assumptions. The little is intended to symbolize the depth of our society's transition from pro-union and family-oriented values to anti-union individualist-oriented beliefs.

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