eir advantage and employees were being severely mistreated. On the other hand, unions have created this regime of power that has forced employers to seek cheap labor in underdeveloped nations, and has undercut the United States' competitive edge. This raises the question, currently, are labor unions beneficial or detrimental to the American economy?
             In 1954, unions represented nearly 38 percent of the nonagricultural private workforce in the United States. Empowered by a large and inspired membership, unions were able to capture a significant percentage of the surplus generated by corporations in the 1940's 1950's and 1960's. Results could be seen in the steady increase in wages and benefits of union members. However nonunion members also benefited, as unions campaigned for a higher minimum wage and prodded nonunion employers into paying higher wages that occasionally matched nonunion wages (Karier, 1994, p. 4).
             Subsequently, attention has been placed on how labor unions impact our society today? Even today, the UAW tries to get everything it can for the working man. For instance, in January 2002, Ford said it would close assembly plants in St Louis and in Edison, New Jersey-but clauses in the current contract forced the plant to put this plan on hold (Wachter, 2003, p. 22). I believe that we should keep as much work in the United States as possible. This is a good example of why unions are still around. Even so, there are two sides to every coin.
             As Wachter reports (2003), the main economic factor in the decline of union Employment is the American economy. Our economy has become extremely competitive over the last 50 years. Factors include the growth of the internationally traded goods sector; the increase in multinationals with multi-country production, such as European and Japanese car companies with plan
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