Although this number may seem high, in actuality it is a significant

drop from the once 20 million American workers who were formerly

employed by labor unions. What exactly is the reason for the drop in

membership to unions? Surely with the many benefits such as higher

wages, shorter workdays and workweeks, job security, and fringe

benefits the appeal of belonging to a union should remain high, so

According to the census taken at the end of 1997, when the most

recent count was made, only 14.1% of workers belonged to unions,

the lowest percentage since 1936 (Gross 23). This alone is a dramatic

decrease from when unions were at their height at the end of World

War II when 35.3% of Americans were in unions (Galenson 13). One

specific cause of this fall of union membership is the decline of

manufacturing in America and the transfer of much manufacturing

work over seas (Gross 24). Because of advances in technology and

labor saving innovations, fewer people are required to make steel and

are needed to assemble automobiles. As a result, only 16.1% of U.S.

workers now work in factories, down from 22.8% twenty years a

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