Abstract
In a period when union membership is at an all-time low (at least in the private sector), some (or perhaps many) people have given up hope that the labor movement can be revived. I believe that the labor movement still has the potential to be successful but needs to be re-imagined and reinvigorated. One way (among many) of doing this is to increase women's attachment to the labor movement. Now that women comprise nearly 47 percent of the workforce, it makes sense to have a concentrated effort to increase their union participation.
Not only will more women in unions increase the overall union density, but studies indicate that union membership provides even more benefits to women than to men. Women's salaries are affected positively by unionization more than by anything else. This article explores one reason this is true. The primary reason is that many women have been socialized not to negotiate on their own behalf, and indeed, women as a class (with some notable exceptions) do not negotiate nearly as often as men. Accordingly, women benefit even more than men from having union representation, where someone else is responsible for negotiating on their behalf for wages, benefits, and job security.
Therefore, because women stand to benefit so significantly from increased participation in unions, I argue that we should work to increase women's membership in unions. One way to increase the percentage of women union members is to increase the number of women union leaders. Increasing women in leadership roles will also bring attention to issues important to women that have historically been ignored. Additionally, women union leaders can bring a fresh approach to organizing and leading unions. Finally, because the studies reveal that women's unique style makes them very good and passionate negotiators when advocating on behalf of others, increasing the number of women who are responsible for negotiating on behalf of unions might work to improve union/management relationships and achieve better results.
This abstract has been adapted from the author's introduction.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2014
Publication Information
14 Nevada Law Journal 465-495 (2014)
Repository Citation
Porter, Nicole B., "Women, Unions, and Negotiation" (2014). Faculty Publications. 2197.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/2197