Editing Trade union (section)

==Impact==
{{Globalize|date=October 2021|2=United States}}

=== Economics ===
[[File:1907- Income inequality and union participation.svg|thumb|US income inequality and union participation have had a distinctly inverse relationship, with the disparity increasing since the 1980s.<ref name=NYTimes_20230707>{{cite news |last1=Leonhardt |first1=David |title=How Elba Makes a Living Wage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/07/briefing/unions-living-wage-working-documentary.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708002328/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/07/briefing/unions-living-wage-working-documentary.html |archive-date=July 8, 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
The academic literature shows substantial evidence that trade unions reduce [[economic inequality]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ahlquist|first=John S.|date=2017|title=Labor Unions, Political Representation, and Economic Inequality|url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/2894m48p|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=20|issue=1|pages=409–432 |doi= 10.1146/annurev-polisci-051215-023225|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Farber|first1=Henry S|last2=Herbst|first2=Daniel|last3=Kuziemko|first3=Ilyana|last4= Naidu |first4= Suresh |date= 2021 |title= Unions and Inequality over the Twentieth Century: New Evidence from Survey Data*|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=136 |issue= 3|pages=1325–1385|doi=10.1093/qje/qjab012|issn=0033-5533|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Collins|first1=William J.|last2=Niemesh|first2=Gregory T. |year= 2019 |title=Unions and the Great Compression of wage inequality in the US at mid-century: evidence from local labour markets|journal=The Economic History Review|volume=72|language= en |issue=2|pages=691–715|doi=10.1111/ehr.12744|issn=1468-0289|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2019-02-12|title=Unions and American Income Inequality at Mid-Century |url= https://ehsthelongrun.net/2019/02/12/unions-and-american-income-inequality-at-mid-century/|website=The Long Run|archive-date = 7 November 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201107225804/https://ehsthelongrun.net/2019/02/12/unions-and-american-income-inequality-at-mid-century/ |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Rosenfeld2014">{{Cite book |last=Rosenfeld |first=Jake |title=What Unions No Longer Do |publisher=Harvard University |year=2014 |isbn=9780674726215 |location=Cambridge}}</ref><ref name="WesternRosenfeld2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Western |first1=Bruce |last2=Rosenfeld |first2=Jake |date=August 2011 |title=Unions, Norms, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality |url=https://www.asanet.org/wp-content/uploads/savvy/images/journals/docs/pdf/asr/WesternandRosenfeld.pdf |journal=American Sociological Review |language=en |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=513–537 |doi=10.1177/0003122411414817 |s2cid=18351034 |issn=0003-1224 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111111217/https://www.asanet.org/wp-content/uploads/savvy/images/journals/docs/pdf/asr/WesternandRosenfeld.pdf |archive-date=2024-01-11}}</ref> The economist [[Joseph Stiglitz]] has asserted that, "Strong unions have helped to reduce inequality, whereas weaker unions have made it easier for [[CEO]]s, sometimes working with market forces that they have helped shape, to increase it." Evidence indicates that those who are ''not'' members of unions also see higher wages. Researchers suggest that unions set industrial norms as firms try to stop further unionization or losing workers to better-paying competitors.<ref name="WesternRosenfeld2011" /><ref name="Rosenfeld2014" /> The decline in unionization since the 1960s in the United States has been associated with a pronounced rise in [[income inequality in the United States|income]] and [[wealth inequality in the United States|wealth inequality]] and, since 1967, with loss of [[American middle class|middle class]] income.<ref>Doree Armstrong (12 February 2014). [http://www.washington.edu/news/2014/02/12/jake-rosenfeld-explores-the-sharp-decline-of-union-membership-influence/ Jake Rosenfeld explores the sharp decline of union membership, influence]. ''UW Today.'' Retrieved 6 March 2015. See also: Jake Rosenfeld (2014) ''[http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674725119 What Unions No Longer Do].'' [[Harvard University Press]]. {{ISBN|0674725115}}</ref><ref>Keith Naughton, Lynn Doan and Jeffrey Green (20 February 2015). [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-20/unions-poised-for-comeback-as-middle-class-wages-stall As the Rich Get Richer, Unions Are Poised for Comeback]. ''Bloomberg.'' Retrieved 6 March 2015.
* "A 2011 study drew a link between the decline in union membership since 1973 and expanding wage disparity. Those trends have since continued, said [[Bruce Western]], a professor of sociology at Harvard University who co-authored the study."</ref><ref>Stiglitz, Joseph E. (4 June 2012). The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future (Kindle Locations 1148–1149). Norton. Kindle Edition.</ref><ref>Barry T. Hirsch, David A. Macpherson, and Wayne G. Vroman, "Estimates of Union Density by State", [[Monthly Labor Review]], Vol. 124, No. 7, July 2001.</ref> [[Right-to-work laws]] have been linked to greater economic inequality in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=VanHeuvelen|first=Tom|date=2020-03-01|title=The Right to Work, Power Resources, and Economic Inequality|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/708067|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=125|issue=5|pages=1255–1302|doi=10.1086/708067|s2cid=219517711|issn=0002-9602}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Western|first1=Bruce|last2=Rosenfeld|first2=Jake|date=2011-08-01|title=Unions, Norms, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411414817|journal=American Sociological Review|language=en|volume=76|issue=4|pages=513–537|doi=10.1177/0003122411414817|s2cid=18351034|issn=0003-1224}}</ref>

Research from Norway has found that high unionization rates lead to substantial increases in firm productivity, as well as increases in workers' wages.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Barth|first1=Erling|last2=Bryson|first2=Alex|last3=Dale-Olsen|first3=Harald|date=2020-10-16|title=Union Density Effects on Productivity and Wages|url=https://academic.oup.com/ej/article/130/631/1898/5824627|journal=The Economic Journal|language=en|volume=130|issue=631|pages=1898–1936|doi=10.1093/ej/ueaa048|issn=0013-0133|doi-access=free|hdl=11250/2685607|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Research from Belgium also found productivity gains, although smaller.<ref>Van den Berg, Annette, Arjen van Witteloostuijn, and Olivier Van der Brempt. "Employee workplace representation in Belgium: Effects on firm performance." International Journal of Manpower (2017).</ref> However, other research in the United States has found that unions can harm profitability, employment and business growth rates.<ref>Hirsch, Barry T. "What do unions do for economic performance?." Journal of Labor Research 25, no. 3 (2004): 415–455.</ref><ref>Vedder, Richard, and Lowell Gallaway. "The economic effects of labor unions revisited." Journal of labor research 23, no. 1 (2002): 105–130.</ref> UK research on employment, wages, productivity, and investment found union density improved all metrics - but only until a limit. Forming U-shaped curves, after an optimal density, more unionisation ''worsened'' employment, wages, etc.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Monastiriotis |first=Vassilis |date=2003-02-17 |title=Union retreat and regional economic performance: the UK in the 1990s |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23749560 |journal=Research Papers in Environmental and Spatial Analysis |volume=77 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111123226/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vassilis-Monastiriotis/publication/23749560_Union_Retreat_and_Regional_Economic_Performance_the_UK_in_the_1990s/links/09e415112b90e6eecd000000/Union-Retreat-and-Regional-Economic-Performance-the-UK-in-the-1990s.pdf |archive-date=2024-01-11 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Monastiriotis |first=Vassilis |date=15 Mar 2007 |title=Union Retreat and Regional Economic Performance: The UK Experience |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/00343400601149915?scroll=top&needAccess=true |journal=Regional Studies |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=143–156 |doi=10.1080/00343400601149915 |bibcode=2007RegSt..41..143M |s2cid=154851210 |via=Taylor and Francis online}}</ref> Research from the [[Anglosphere]] indicates that unions can provide wage premiums and reduce inequality while reducing employment growth and restricting employment flexibility.<ref>Bryson, Alex. "Union wage effects." IZA World of Labor (2014).</ref> Some trade unions oppose approaches which increase productivity, such as [[automation]].<ref name="e922">{{cite web | last=Eavis | first=Peter | title=Will Automation Replace Jobs? Port Workers May Strike Over It. | website=The New York Times | date=2 September 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/02/business/economy/port-workers-robots-automation-strike.html | access-date=8 September 2024}}</ref>

In the United States, the outsourcing of labour to Asia, Latin America, and Africa has been partially driven by increasing costs of union partnership, which gives other countries a [[comparative advantage]] in labour, making it more efficient to perform labour-intensive work there.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kramarz |first=Francis |date=2006-10-19 |title=Outsourcing, Unions, and Wages: Evidence from data matching imports, firms, and workers |url=http://www.eco.uc3m.es/temp/agenda/wage102006.pdf |access-date=2007-01-22}}</ref> Trade unions have been accused of benefiting insider workers and those with secure jobs at the cost of outsider workers, consumers of the goods or services produced, and the shareholders of the unionized business.<ref>Card David, Krueger Alan. (1995). Myth and measurement: The new economics of the minimum wage. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press.</ref> Economist [[Milton Friedman]] sought to show that unionization produces higher wages (for the union members) at the expense of fewer jobs, and that, if some industries are unionized while others are not, wages will tend to decline in non-unionized industries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Milton|author-link=Milton Friedman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhcI5-D9wREC&pg=PA164|title=Price theory|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=2007|isbn=978-0202309699|edition=[New ed.], 3rd printing|location=New Brunswick, NJ}}</ref> [[Friedrich Hayek]] criticized unions in chapter 18 of his publication ''[[The Constitution of Liberty]]''.<ref>Kusunoki, S. Hayek on labor unions and restraint of trade. Const Polit Econ (2023). {{doi|10.1007/s10602-023-09396-y}}</ref>

Trade unions frequently advocate for [[Lockstep compensation|seniority-based compensation]] and against [[meritocracy]].<ref name="z950">{{cite report | last=Tracy | first=Joseph | title=Seniority Rules and the Gains from Union Organization | publisher=National Bureau of Economic Research | publication-place=Cambridge, MA | year=1986 | doi=10.3386/w2039 | page=}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
In the United States, the weakening of unions has been linked to more favourable electoral outcomes for the Republican Party.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Abdul-Razzak|first1=Nour|last2=Prato|first2=Carlo|last3=Wolton|first3=Stephane|date=2020-10-01|title=After Citizens United: How outside spending shapes American democracy|journal=Electoral Studies|language=en|volume=67|page=102190|doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2020.102190|issn=0261-3794|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Macdonald|first=David|date=2020-06-25|title=Labor Unions and White Democratic Partisanship|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09624-3|journal=Political Behavior|volume=43|issue=2|pages=859–879|language=en|doi=10.1007/s11109-020-09624-3|s2cid=220512676|issn=1573-6687}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hertel-Fernandez|first=Alexander|date=2018|title=Policy Feedback as Political Weapon: Conservative Advocacy and the Demobilization of the Public Sector Labor Movement|journal=Perspectives on Politics|language=en|volume=16|issue=2|pages=364–379|doi=10.1017/S1537592717004236|issn=1537-5927|doi-access=free}}</ref> Legislators in areas with high unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the poor, whereas areas with lower unionization rates are more responsive to the interests of the rich.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Becher|first1=Michael|last2=Stegmueller|first2=Daniel|date=2020|title=Reducing Unequal Representation: The Impact of Labor Unions on Legislative Responsiveness in the U.S. Congress|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/abs/reducing-unequal-representation-the-impact-of-labor-unions-on-legislative-responsiveness-in-the-us-congress/D72A0BDB4EA513DFE988331D5380E8DE|journal=Perspectives on Politics|volume=19|issue=1 |language=en|pages=92–109|doi=10.1017/S153759272000208X|s2cid=204825962|issn=1537-5927}}</ref> Higher unionization rates increase the likelihood of parental leave policies being adopted.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Engeman|first=Cassandra|date=2020|title=When Do Unions Matter to Social Policy? Organized Labor and Leave Legislation in US States|journal=Social Forces|volume=99|issue=4|pages=1745–1771|language=en|doi=10.1093/sf/soaa074|doi-access=free}}</ref> Republican-controlled states are less likely to adopt more restrictive labour policies when unions are strong in the state.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bucci|first1=Laura C.|last2=Jansa|first2=Joshua M.|date=2020|title=Who passes restrictive labour policy? A view from the States|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-public-policy/article/abs/who-passes-restrictive-labour-policy-a-view-from-the-states/792280CCB3221C4344149382A76FCB40|journal=Journal of Public Policy|volume=41|issue=3|language=en|pages=409–439|doi=10.1017/S0143814X20000070|s2cid=216258517|issn=0143-814X}}</ref>

Research in the United States found that American congressional representatives were more responsive to the interests of the poor in districts with higher unionization rates.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Becher|first1=Michael|last2=Stegmueller|first2=Daniel|date=2020|title=Reducing Unequal Representation: The Impact of Labor Unions on Legislative Responsiveness in the U.S. Congress|journal=Perspectives on Politics|volume=19|issue=1 |language=en|pages=92–109|doi=10.1017/S153759272000208X|issn=1537-5927|doi-access=free}}</ref> Another 2020 American study found an association between US state level adoption of parental leave legislation and trade union strength.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Engeman|first=Cassandra|date=2020|title=When Do Unions Matter to Social Policy? Organized Labor and Leave Legislation in US States|journal=Social Forces|volume=99|issue=4|pages=1745–1771|language=en|doi=10.1093/sf/soaa074|quote=Event history analysis of state-level leave policy adoption from 1983 to 2016 shows that union institutional strength, particularly in the public sector, is positively associated with the timing of leave policy adoption.|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In the United States, unions have been linked to lower racial resentment among whites.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Frymer|first1=Paul|last2=Grumbach|first2=Jacob M.|title=Labor Unions and White Racial Politics|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ajps.12537|journal=American Journal of Political Science|year=2020|volume=65|issue=1 |language=en|pages=225–240|doi=10.1111/ajps.12537|s2cid=221245953|issn=1540-5907}}</ref> Membership in unions increases political knowledge, in particular among those with less formal education.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Macdonald|first=David|date=2019-04-29|title=How Labor Unions Increase Political Knowledge: Evidence from the United States|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-019-09548-7|journal=Political Behavior|volume=43|issue=1 |pages=1–24|language=en|doi=10.1007/s11109-019-09548-7|s2cid=159071392|issn=1573-6687}}</ref>

[[Public-sector trade union]]s have been associated with increased cost of government.<ref name="u201">{{cite journal | last1=Anzia | first1=Sarah F. | last2=Moe | first2=Terry M. | title=Public Sector Unions and the Costs of Government | journal=The Journal of Politics | volume=77 | issue=1 | date=2015 | issn=0022-3816 | doi=10.1086/678311 | pages=114–127| url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0n57c3tf }}</ref>

=== Health ===
In the United States, higher union density has been associated with lower suicide/overdose deaths.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eisenberg-Guyot|first1=Jerzy|last2=Mooney|first2=Stephen J.|last3=Hagopian|first3=Amy|last4=Barrington|first4=Wendy E.|last5=Hajat|first5=Anjum|date=2020|title=Solidarity and disparity: Declining labor union density and changing racial and educational mortality inequities in the United States|url= |journal=American Journal of Industrial Medicine|language=en|volume=63|issue=3|pages=218–231|doi=10.1002/ajim.23081|issn=1097-0274|pmc=7293351|pmid=31845387| quote=Results – Overall, a 10% increase in union density was associated with a 17% relative decrease in overdose/suicide mortality (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70, 0.98), or 5.7 lives saved per 100 000 person‐years (95% CI: −10.7, −0.7). Union density's absolute (lives‐saved) effects on overdose/suicide mortality were stronger for men than women, but its relative effects were similar across genders. Union density had little effect on all‐cause mortality overall or across subgroups, and modeling suggested union‐density increases would not affect mortality inequities. Conclusions - Declining union density (as operationalized in this study) may not explain all‐cause mortality inequities, although increases in union density may reduce overdose/suicide mortality. }}</ref> Decreased unionization rates in the United States have been linked to an increase in occupational fatalities.<ref name="Zoorob 2018">{{cite journal | last=Zoorob | first=Michael | title=Does 'right to work' imperil the right to health? The effect of labour unions on workplace fatalities | journal=Occupational and Environmental Medicine | volume=75 | issue=10 | date=October 1, 2018 | issn=1351-0711 | pmid=29898957 | doi=10.1136/oemed-2017-104747 | pages=736–738 | s2cid=49187014 | url=https://oem.bmj.com/content/75/10/736 | access-date=January 31, 2022 |quote= The Local Average Treatment Effect of a 1% decline in unionisation attributable to RTW is about a 5% increase in the rate of occupational fatalities. In total, RTW laws have led to a 14.2% increase in occupational mortality through decreased unionisation.}}</ref>