America’s union membership rates has halved over the past three decades to reach new lows, crunched by a decline in the manufacturing sector.
The percentage of wage and salary workers who were members of unions was 10.7% in 2016, an annual decline of 0.4 percentage points that amounted to 240,000 workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Back in 1983, membership levels were 20.1%.
Organized labor has been in steady decline, as many unskilled blue-collar roles are either outsourced to lower-cost countries such as China or replaced by machines. Much of the benefits offered by unions also have been supplanted, either by government legislation or corporations offering similarly-attractive packages to employees.
Individual corporate offers, however, can be benchmarked against benefits negotiated via organized labor, potentially giving CEOs more scope to set their own terms and conditions, should union membership decline to more marginal levels.
To be sure, unions leaders have been emboldened by Donald Trump’s protectionist stance and some met with him this week at the White House after he withdrew the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership. It remains unclear, though, whether membership levels would rebound if the manufacturing sector recovers.
Non-unionized workers are still earning less: with median weekly earnings of $802, they make 80% of the $1,004 earned by their unionized counterparts. The Labor Department stressed, though, that this comparison was made on a broad level and didn’t account for other control factors that determine pay levels, such as skills and occupation.
Public-sector membership stood at 34.4% in 2016, more than five times higher than private-sector workers, at 6.4%. Workers in education, training and library occupations—and in protective service occupations, such as prison guards—were the most heavily unionized.
New York state had the highest membership rate, at 23.6%, followed by Hawaii, Alaska and Connecticut.
North Carolina had the lowest at 1.6%. The next lowest were in North Carolina, Arkansas and Georgia. The full state list can be viewed here.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
