Labor’s inequality of bargaining power: Changes over time and implications for public policy |
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Authors: | Bruce E Kaufman |
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Institution: | (1) Georgia State University, 30303 Atlanta, GA |
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Abstract: | A major justification for enacting the Wagner Act and encouraging collective bargaining was that in the wage-determination
process individual workers suffer from an inequality of bargaining power vis-á-vis employers. This critical review of this
justification examines the analytical meaning of the concept of an inequality of bargaining power, the factors responsible
for this inequality, the change that has taken place in labor’s disadvantage since the 1930s, and the implications for national
labor policy. It is concluded that some employers continue to have significant market power over wages but that the extent
and degree of labor’s disadvantage in bargaining has diminished substantially since World War II. The implication is that
the Wagner Act’s protection of the right to organize remains in the social interest but that the bargaining power of labor
unions should be further circumscribed to preserve a balance of power in wage determination.
The author thanks Paul Swiercz for helpful comments. |
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