Abstract: I explore the sources of union decline from 1970-2008, inspecting the shifting prominence of different causes at different points in time. Using a relational approach which views labor and capital as actors that gain or lose power at the expense of each other, I find that U.S. union decline is the result of several institutional transformations that benefitted capital relative to labor. Capital was advantaged and labor was disadvantaged due to: 1) the financialization of the economy in the 1980s, 2) weakening protections of labor policy by the 1970s, 3) the reconfiguration of productive capital in the 1970s and 1980s, 4) an anti-union business offensive gaining momentum in the 1970s, and 5) the failure of unions to sufficiently organize new members throughout the entire period. Combined, this confluence of factors led to a steep decline in union membership. Results highlight the complex nature of temporal dynamics in capital-labor power struggles.

As of 2015, public opinion of the ethical and honesty standards of labor union leaders was low, with 36% of the public reporting a low or very low rating, and only 18% reporting high or very high ratings. Grounded in leadership behavioral theory, the purpose of this correlation study was to examine the relationship between union members' perceptions of union leadership consideration, union members' perceptions of leadership initiation of structure, and union members' perceptions of leadership trust. Forty-four union members completed a brief demographic survey, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire XII, and the Trust and Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results of simultaneous linear regression indicated that model as a whole was able to significantly predict union members' perceptions of leadership trust, F(2,41) = 10.40, p < .001, R2 = .30. Leadership consideration was the only significantly predictor of union members' perceptions of leadership trust (β = .62, t = 3.23, p = .002). The results may have significance for social change; union leaders can implement leadership consideration to improve the trust levels of members towards union leaders. Further social change implications include the potential to increase union membership. Moreover, society benefits when strong labor unions can provide a pathway to checks and balances that subsequently may improve employees working conditions, worker's pay, local economy, and produce higher quality goods and services.