The existence of labor unions has played a large role in the economy of the United States and in the way in which businesses structure the wages and benefits of their employees. Labor unions began back in the late eighteenth century with industries such as shoemaking and carpentry. However, in the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century, the United States has seen a dramatic growth and then decline in the number or workers who chose to be members of labor unions. Government legislation has played a role during this period, especially in the expansion of unions in the 1930¯s through the 1950¯s. However, the decline in the number of union workers, which began in the mid-70¯s, can be attributed to much more than public policy such as; the attitude of workers toward unions, the movement of industry to the South, the state of the national economy, and increased domestic and foreign competition.

The level of union membership that occurs can be analyzed through a demand and supply analysis. The demand curve shows how many union services people wish to have at a given price, while the supply side displays the price of membership versus the amount o

More domestic competition occurred with legislation that was not directly related to labor relations. The deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 had a dramatic effect on the union workers within the once protected airline industry. Once low cost, nonunion carriers moved into the market, the large carriers had to reduce costs, and one way was to cut wages. This caused union contracts to be renegotiated and union membership to decline within the industry because many people believed the airline unions lost some power. (Masters, 424)

Ratings of Labor Unions, 1936-1985 (percent)

The Norris-LaGuardia Act generally was favorable toward labor unions. °The intent and effect of the law was to remove certain legal restraints by which trade union action had been controlled and to leave the unions free to exert their full economic power against the employer.± (Masters 449) This was favorable because the unions were not restrained as they previously were and could become more powerful. This helped to shift the demand curve to the right because unions were viewed more favorably. This would cause an increase in union membership at a given price. With this act, the government had not made a positive stance toward unions, but decided to take a neutral stance.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Taft-Hartley Act, Public Policy, Landrum-Griffin Act, Economic Snapshot, Norris-LaGuardia Act, Approve Disapprove, President Bush, Wagner Act, Union Services, Overall United, demand curve, labor unions, union workers, union membership, union services, decline union workers, supply demand, decline union, change price, airline industry, public policy, shift demand curve, equilibrium price quantity, landrum-griffin act 1959, deregulation airline industry,
Approximate Word count = 2373
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)