Without trade union, the more powerful will be highly authoritarian towards those they exercise power on. Therefore, all right-thinking members of society must make all out efforts to see that the institution of trade union is retained as a conscious choice so that we ensure a just and equitable social order. Of course, the employers should have the right to pursue genuine trade union substitution strategies if they ensure that the employees would be better off without them in specific contexts.

Dear Debi, I am definitely not an expert in the topic. I do not know if union density is declining in the West, probably. But surely the big unions are in decline because they represented groups of workers "relatively homogeneous" and that somehow took charge of the general problems of society as well, starting from defending the interests of their members. But this relative homogeneity of workers no longer exists, at least in the sense defined historically. Currently there are thousands of small unions that represent the diverse interests and the border between the small union and the corporative groups has become very unstable if not non-existent. I think it's to rethink the role of "mutuality" (of insurance solidade and vindictive). I do not have recipes, but I think it different groups should recognize what they share and understand that " we save us all" or "do not save anyone." Obviously "everyone" refers to workers who share the problems that go beyond their specific job (for which now the corporatism requires a special recognition). This is linked to the crisis of political parties historians. I believe that in both cases you will have to find new ways (staying in the history of a glorious tradition). Forgive my English, is mediated by the machine. Sincerely, Maurizio

I agree with Debi Saini

We recently published two papers with important implications for the social benefit of unions in the Canadian context.

The first by Pohler & Luchak (2014) provides evidence to show how collective voice through trade unionism can balance the outcomes of high involvement work systems so that organizations and employees both benefit in a more sustainable fashion from HR interventions meant to elicit employee input into the work process.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279033571_Balancing_efficiency_equity_and_voice_The_impact_of_unions_and_high-involvement_work_practices_on_work_outcomes

The second by Pohler & Luchak (2015) shows how firms can achieve sustainable advantage or disadvantage over 6 indicators of firm performance depending on their response to collective bargaining.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259547469_Are_Unions_Good_or_Bad_for_Organizations_The_Moderating_Role_of_Management%27s_Response

All the best, Andrew

Article Balancing Efficiency, Equity, and Voice: The Impact of Union...

Article Are Unions Good or Bad for Organizations? The Moderating Rol...