Public Sector Unions

There are few issues hotter in the public sector right now than unions.   The economic crisis and unemployment rates are creating a public eager to find a scapegoat and states are passing monumental legislation to limit the rights of public unions.   This combination has put public unions in the spotlight and in the news. This paper explores the history of unions in the United States and their evolution in the public sector.   Arguments for and against the public sector will be presented and a look at the future of public unions in the U.S.   Finally, a look at the human resource issues involved with unions.
Unions, in the United States, became a major force after the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935 (Freyss, 2009).   Industrial workers began to organize and protest poor working conditions and low wages.   Unions remained a private industry phenomenon until the 1960s and 1970s when the public sector gained the right to unionize.   The right to unionize for public workers fell under constitutional protection and became precedent after a string of court cases (Freyss, 2009).   However, collective bargaining (a matter under serious contention in many states right now) was not protected under the constitution.   Collective bargaining has to be granted by the employing jurisdiction.   Federal employees were given the right under the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) of 1978, but state and local employee rights are varied (Freyss, 2009).   Collective bargaining rights can even vary within jurisdictions.   For example, a city may allow police to bargain collectively, but other city employees cannot (Freyss, 2009).   Many states and local jurisdictions followed the federal example and the number of states allowing collective bargaining went from 1 in 1955 to 10 in 1965. By 1970, about half of the states allowed collective bargaining (Edwards, 2010).   The CSRA gave unions legitimacy in the public sector.   Suddenly, they were a force to be reckoned with.   Even large...