Trade (Labor) Unions

Abstract

If monetary policy was designed to change the conditions of the British and American economies, and the purpose of taxation reform was to introduce incentives and empower enterprise, then the role of privatisation, deregulation and trade union reform was to change how the British and American economies functioned. After the Second World War, the economic policies of both the United States and Britain were characterised to varying degrees by an interventionist Keynesian orthodoxy. The American approach was essentially to regulate private industries, such as utilities, telecommunication and transport, for the social good, while Britain nationalised the commanding heights of the economy (coal, electricity, railways, iron, steel, etc). Trade unions played a significant role in the British economy and sought an increasingly political involvement due to their influence over key monopolised national industries (in addition to their role in the Labour Party).1 American labor unions were also a strong presence, although their political ambitions were limited to support for the Democratic Party.2 Thatcher and Reagan were determined to reverse this situation and ensure that the British and American economies were governed by the free market, and incentives, favouring individual entrepreneurialism and popular capitalism over government intervention and collectivism. This chapter addresses trade (labor) unions.