Reputation of the Labor Movement

In the last four decades, new labor union membership has been in decline worldwide. The only exceptions are Spain, Ireland, Luxembourg, Chile, Mexico and China. In these countries, the number of labor union members has increased over the past decade.

The decline in labor union membership automatically undermines the labor movement’s strength and, especially in industrial countries, leads to even wider gaps. This phenomenon of de-unionization generally has the same causes everywhere, even if the sequence of events of how they happen may differ from one country to another. In Indonesia, the decline in labor union membership is unique, as it occurs before the movement has thrived. Furthermore, the decline occurs not because of industry relocation or the issuance of a union-curtailing law. Instead, it is believed that the decline is due to the unions’ dwindling reputation, both among workers and the public.

In the US, the main reason for the unions’ decline was the massive relocation of industries in the manufacturing sector to South American countries due to lower production costs and a shift of focus towards service industries. Computerization and robots taking over tasks were also often cited as reasons. The emergence of new laws also made it harder for labor unions to recruit new members. Lastly, there was the declining public reputation of labor unions, as they were deemed inefficient and too close to the Democratic Party. The revelation of scandals involving union leaders also did not help.