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Earlier in this
course, we talked

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about the changing
role of labor unions

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and how the decline
in union membership

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has contributed to the breakdown
of the social contract.

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To understand this
better, let's look

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at how union membership rates
have changed since their peak

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in the 1950s, when almost
one third of all employees

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belonged to a union.

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By the early 1980s,
around the time when

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we began to see the real
effects of the breakdown

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of the social contract,
union membership

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was already declining.

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And from then until now,
it declined even more

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dramatically.

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In 2013, only 11% of 129 million
working individuals in the US

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had a union on the job and
collective bargaining network.

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Now, in the private sector,
which employees most

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working individuals in the US,
this percentage is even lower--

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barely 7% of these workers
in fast food, health care,

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or technology, for example,
barely 7% have a union at work.

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Now, labor leaders and scholars
who study employment and labor

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unions argue that
a number of factors

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have contributed to
this decline in unions.

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Some argue, for example, that
the structure of the economy

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plays a role, as growth in
non-union sectors concentrated

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in service industries
has outstripped growth

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in industries like
construction and manufacturing

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where unions historically
have been strong.

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Others point to the increased
difficulty of organizing

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new membership,
and in particular,

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to the legal obstacles
that exist in implementing

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new agreements at work.

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Recent research has found that
only one in seven workplaces

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where workers have organized an
election and voted for a union

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will actually see a contract in
the year following their vote.

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And oftentimes, these types
of elections are contentious.

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And in workplaces
where employers

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have been charged with
trying to discourage union

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activity through
unfair labor practices,

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the odds go down
by nearly a third.

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In addition to these economic
and legal challenges,

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labor leaders and
scholars also point

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to increased
anti-union activity,

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not only by employers, but
increasingly by policymakers,

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as we've seen in states
like Wisconsin and Indiana,

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who are rolling back
workers' rights to organize

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and collective
bargaining agreements.

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So over the past
three decades, there's

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really been a shift, not only
in how many people experience

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labor unions on the job,
but in the way that we

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think about labor unions.

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In this course, we've talked
about the social contract

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and what it means at work--

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this idea that what's good for
workers is good for businesses.

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And although we have examples
of many good employers

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as discussed by Professor
Zeynep Ton in her video,

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many employers act
as though this idea

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is no longer the case--

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that what's good
for workers is not

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necessarily good for businesses,
and that unions do not

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have a role in improving
the way that firms work.

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At the same time, declining
wages, less job security,

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and increased costs related
to things like health care

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and student loans
are making it more

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difficult for
working individuals.

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All of this adds up to
a difficult environment,

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not only for labor
unions, but also

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for individuals
who try to protect

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their rights on the job.

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The good news, however, is
that over the past two decades,

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we've had a flurry of
activity in organizing around

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economic justice in ways
that are bringing employees'

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voices front and center.

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These include new
strategies of labor unions

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to expand their membership
and include more working

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people, the growth of
worker centers and labor

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associations outside this
realm, and the strengthening

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of employment policy through
economic development.

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We've also seen a growing
number of social movements

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that are highlighting the ways
in which the social contract

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can be reestablished at work.

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In the next video,
we'll talk about each

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of these in a bit more detail.