The Economic Crisis and Organized Labor: Resentment over Solidarity

Abstract

The onset of the Great Recession raised hopes among union supporters that organized labor would be able to use the downturn to gain greater political influence and new members. But despite Democratic Party victories in 2008, unions found it quite difficult to take advantage of the crisis. No revival of union organizing occurred, and membership continued to decline. Moreover, unions were unable to effectively present themselves as defenders of a larger public interest in equitable economic policy. Instead, many in the public turned against unions, viewing them as labor market “insiders” who benefited from government largesse in the form of bailouts to the auto industry and excessive salaries and pensions granted to public employees. Resentment of union privileges grew more common than solidarity with union workers. While public employee unions had some success in opposing attacks on collective bargaining rights, these efforts did not alter labor's fundamentally weak strategic position.