Labor Union Decline & American Workers

In Restoring Workers' Voice, Thomas A. Kochan describes the impact on American workers and working families due to the effects of labor union decline over the past few decades. Kochan (2003) argues that at no time since the 1930s has the labor force "absorbed bigger economic losses either in the form of job loss, wage stagnation or decline, or lost pension savings" (2). American laborers have lost their collective voice in the employment arena and in the political arena with little hope of turning around the level of union decline any time in the near future. According to Kochan (2003), such a turnaround will only happen when strong labor movement leaders can articulate a vision and strategy that will unite and galvanize workers in a way that will restore their labor voice in both the employment and political arenas. This is the entire point of Kochan's (2003) essay, the call for strong leadership that will carry out the following prescription offered by the author for restoring voice to American workers: "What is needed more than anything else are leaders who articulate a new vision, build the strategic capacity capable of supporting this vision and the variety of initiatives already underway, and strike the resonate cord needed to fill the void in worker voice no present in America" (19).

There are a number of strengths and weaknesses in Kochan's essay. One of the biggest strengths is his thorough and complete coverage o

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