Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector
Linda Howerton
PHI 103 Informal Logic

Instructor: Ms. Tanya Martin

October 22, 2012

Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector
Union membership is today at an all time low. It has been steadily declining since the 1980’s. Private sector union membership has been affected the most, while that of the public sector has remained relatively strong (Devinatz, 2011 Spring). Public worker unions, especially state and federal government unions, must be allowed to continue to bargain collectively to ensure the rights and job security of their members. Collective bargaining allows union members to have a voice regarding their wages, benefits, and working
According to Givan and Hipp, in a 24 nations study of workers’ views about the efficacy of unions, entitled “Public Perceptions of Union Efficacy: A Twenty-Four Country Study,” most laborers who belong to unions: feel most positive about the ability of unions to improve working conditions and job security. Women tend to hold a more positive view than men of the effects of unions on job security. Women are generally more susceptible to various forms of workplace discrimination, which creates a greater need for the kind of protection provided by unions (Givan and Hipp, 2012 March, p. 25).
Thus we can easily see the importance of unions for the protections they offer workers regarding pay, working conditions, the right to strike if necessary, and most especially, the right to collectively bargain.
Unions and the right to collectively bargain are increasingly endangered across the United States. At least 17 states have passed legislation or have bills pending that would severely curtail the right of employees to collectively bargain (Rigiero, 2011 April). According to Deb Rigiero, in “You are now entering the United Corporations of America,” “We are rapidly becoming the workplace of the past… the workplace without safety regulations; the workplace without workers’ rights; and the workplace without recognition of