Unions

BusinessWeek has a good article on the American labour movement and the struggle unions find themselves in right now, to have relevance. Employers and employees both see unions suited for an era that is no longer with us -- the industrial era -- and in this information age, with high tech and knowledge workers, unions are irrelevant. That type of thinking has seen unions influence erode -- and along with it, the strength of labour and the power of employees. With employers in a constant war to keep costs down and wring out efficiencies, wages and benefits have been taking a beating -- so much so, that the Walmartization effect is having broad and long term negative impact on the economy [PDF] and the competitiveness of entire markets in North America and other first world countries. The article focuses on Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, who is trying to bring relevance back to unions and take power back from employers for employees.