The future of U.S. private sector unionism: Did George Barnett get it right after all?

V. Conclusion George Barnett has the unenviable reputation of making one of the most ill-timed, inaccurate forecasts in the history of industrial relations. Only six months after predicting trade unionism would further decline in the U.S., union organizing swept over the nation in mid-1933 and union density jumped nearly three-fold in the course of a decade. While Barnett's forecast was wildly at odds with the course of unionism in the shortmedium run, viewed over the long run (i.e., the remainder of the twentieth century) it appears more prescient. When he made his prediction, private sector union density stood at roughly 12 percent; seventy years later it is at 9 percent.