In addition, most union workers have higher benefits. Moreover, while unions continue to suffer some-what from an image problem, for the most part unions are viewed far more positively by the general public than in the not so distant past. Certainly, recent revelations of union corruption, such as former Teamster boss Ron Carey's vote fixing, don't help, but, in general, unions are not seen as being as rife with corruption as they were in former years. According to a CBS poll last year, the American public continues to be more sympathetic to unions and their causes. Some 42 percent of those polled said they would favor the union's position in a strike, while only 34 percent said they would take management's side.
Unions still face a host of problems as they try to regain momentum.
Among their biggest is the continuing globalization of the American economy, meaning that many jobs can be done more productively offshore. In June alone, some 35,000 factory jobs were eliminated, while close to half a million such workers have been laid off since March 1998. Though such continued manufacturing layoffs bode ill for the union movement, there is a point at which they will have to slow, if not stop, and that time may be approaching. Manufacturers will have to pay up to keep them working, or, in many cases, scramble to find and train new workers. Either route can prove to be an expensive endeavor, and as yet nobody knows exactly how many aging baby boomers will opt for retirement at 55.