The decline in union membership was very much due to an intentional attack by Reagan and the Republicans. Until Reagan, the National Labor Relations Board had been composed of mostly career government lawyers. They were replaced with people who had spent their careers representing management. They aggressively reversed precedents and narrowed workers rights.
Reagan accelerated what was already coming. Automation completely changes the balance of power in labour negotiations. Previously, unions had power because skilled labour is very expensive and time consuming to replace. If you automate the “skilled” portion of that equation, companies immediately become much more willing to simply shut a plant and move production elsewhere.
The decline in union membership was very much due to an intentional attack by Reagan and the Republicans. Until Reagan, the National Labor Relations Board had been composed of mostly career government lawyers. They were replaced with people who had spent their careers representing management. They aggressively reversed precedents and narrowed workers rights.
https://onlabor.org/ronald-reagan-has-shaped-u-s-labor-law-for-decades/
Reagan accelerated what was already coming. Automation completely changes the balance of power in labour negotiations. Previously, unions had power because skilled labour is very expensive and time consuming to replace. If you automate the “skilled” portion of that equation, companies immediately become much more willing to simply shut a plant and move production elsewhere.