Leo Troy

Is the U.S. unique in the decline of private sector unionism

The U.S. is not unique in the decline of private sector unionism. Contrary to assertions of the “unique school,” unionism in the private sectors of Canada and Western Europe has also declined and for the same reason, structural changes in the labor market.“It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.”Sherlock Holmes.

Structural Stability in Models of American Trade Union Growth

Recent interest in trade union activity has led to the development of econometric models of union membership growth. This paper examines the structural stability of two of the leading models—Ashenfelter-Pencavels and Bain-Elsheikhs—each of which claimed to have captured the primary determinants of union growth in the twentieth century. The models were reestimated using revised, corrected, and extended membership data, and a nonlinear, maximum-likelihood procedure was employed to estimate the shift-point for each model. Contrary to previous studies, we found evidence of a break in the structure of each model. And unlike earlier work that hypothesized a World War II break-point, our estimated point was 1937–1938, most likely reflecting the impact of the Wagner Act.

The New Unionism in the New Society: Public Sector Unions in the Redistributive State.

Leo Troy describes and analyzes the changes in the economy and labor markets and the subsequent and continuing changes in unions. He contrasts new and old unionism, detailing the characteristics of the new union movement and patterns of organization. He sets this discussion in the context of the new industrial relations system and compares and contrasts the old and new philosophies of unionism. The book concludes with an examination of the philosophy of the new unionism and its consequences.

Finances of American Unions in the 1970s

The aggregate finances of American unions in the 1970s are examined and compared with their state in 1962. We find that unions’ real financial wealth declined in the 1970s to the levels of the previous decade, while their real income grew at a much slower rate than during the 1960s. These results suggest that unions may face financial as well as operational problems in the future.

Local independent unions and the American labor movement

Local independent unions have received relatively little attention from students of the American labor movement, at least since the constitutional validation of the Wagner Act in 1937. In fact, local independent unions are usually dismissed as negligible in size or significance for collective bargaining, largely on the unexamined premise that such labor organizations can exist and function only with the covert assistance of certain employers. Yet, according to estimates developed in this article, upwards of 1.5 millions of workers may he represented in collective bargaining by this type of labor organization. This article challenges the view that local independent unions are viable only because of employer encouragement and assistance, estimates their size and rate of growth, describes and analyzes the factors accounting for their industrial and geographic distributions, and discusses their relationship to the main corpus of the American labor movement. (Authors abstract courtesy EBSCO.)

Union Membership and Union Management

There has been an extraordinary resurgence of interest in the economics of trade unions, especially when one considers that, as recently as 1975, George Johnson concluded that the field was not one of economics “growth industries.” Since his pronouncement, published research has increased greatly, a new journal devoted exclusively to this area—the Journal of Labor Research—has been established and is prospering, and, now, an international conference focusing on the economics of labor unions is underway.

Beyond Unions and Collective Bargaining

Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed ten justices to the U.S. Supreme Court - more than any president except Washington - and during his presidency from 1933 to 1945, the Court gained more visibility, underwent greater change, and made more landmark decisions than it had in its previous 150 years of existence. FDR challenged, confronted, and ultimately transformed the Supreme Court from a conservative, anti-interventionist institution opposed to government involvement in the economy to a liberal, activist Court that expanded government powers, protected civil liberties, and promoted civil rights. This collection of ten essays examines FDRs influence on the Supreme Court and the Courts growing influence on American life during his presidency. Subjects include the court-packing fight of 1937, the impact of the New Deal on the Court, key FDR appointments (Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, and William O. Douglas), and the Roosevelt Courts enduring legacy.

The end of unionism: A reappraisal

p rivate-sector unionism, which I have called the Old Unionism, cannot survive the new age of increased worldwide competition. The Old Unionism is in a state of permanent decline, and I see no remedy that could arrest or reverse that trend. Thus privatesector unionism is (or was) the unionism of the twentieth century, while the unionism of the next century will be public-sector unionism, the New Unionism.