by Brian Smith

Created on: December 06, 2007

Business unionism in America has been on the decline over the last twenty-five years. There have been many factors that have caused this decline, such as a shift from industrial jobs to technology based jobs. People are moving from the factories to the boardroom, and that leaves a gap in the unionization of the workforce. Since the beginning of the industrial age there was cause for a collective body to unionize. Workers early on in the nineteen hundreds faced long hours as well as dangerous conditions. None were as prevalent as mining the coal in the mountains of West Virginia. Not only was mining one of the toughest jobs you could have, but also one of the most hazardous to your body from breathing in the dust and particles from the coal. These laborers worked sixteen hour days, six days a week to fuel the nation's everlasting infatuation with energy. These laborers risked their lives everyday to quench our thirst to move forward in society. Not only was mining harmful to your lungs, you also ran the risk of the minds falling in on you.

Since unions are suffering, due to the transition from manufacturing jobs being most prevalent, to technology based jobs taking over the economy. There have been many strikes as well as coalitions to combat the unions losses of pay, layoffs, and work conditions. There was once twenty-two million union workers in the United States of America in nineteen-eighty. Since that time there has been more than thirty-five percent drop-off of union workers in 2005. If you are a worker this figure frightens you because there is less of an opportunity to get better wages and better insurance. Yet if you are an employer, this is music to your ears, because your bottom line looks a lot better.

Business Unionism is the short term look into better wages, insurance, work conditions, and hours in exchange for the long-term conditions. This means they are not looking to gain a foothold in the political arena, yet they are willing to vote for friends and punish enemies.

Collective bargaining has been an ongoing struggle between management and their employees. A couple of examples include major league sports, such as the National Basketball Association, The National Football League, and Major League Baseball. There have been numerous lockouts in these respective sports. One of the more recent ones was when the National Basketball League could not come to an agreement on player wage and management control. The players wanted a higher minimum wage

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