Quote:
Originally Posted by hip hop bunny hop
(4) Free Trade Agreements do not exert downward wages on working class wages (as a whole) and do not lead to declines in union membership.
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Free trade deals tend to be great for multi-national companies and bad for workers. When trade deals let companies move jobs abroad to countries where the cost of living is lower, it hurts US workers in two ways:
1. People lose their jobs as their jobs are moved abroad.
2. Unions' bargaining power is reduced, since companies are less likely to raise wages etc. when they can move jobs abroad instead.
As for union membership, the membership rate has been steadily declining since the '80s, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, regardless of whether it's directly caused by free trade deals.