Even though there was always a limited number of union workers, their collective bargaining set the standard. That’s not really a factor these days.
1) Far too many humans on earth to have better bargain power in exchange of labor.
2) No workable formula where enormous wealth generated in this world to be more equally distributed.
From what I can tell, all of the same factors that are driving down wages in the US - increased consolidation, far more 'temp' positions brokered by temp agencies - apply to Canada as well, and have had the same effect.
Based on the share of the workforce that is represented by unions. Canada is currently at ~30%, the US peaked at ~30% and is at less than 10% today.
> Unions have shrunk, membership are down, political clout is down, and a newly unionized company is a rare bird indeed.
Unionization is indeed down, but what I said is that it is still about as strong as the strongest years in the US. Canada had even stronger unions through the 80s, when it peaked at just shy of 40%. Interestingly, much of the same wage issues we face today were still present at that time. Wages have been stagnant since at least the 70s, according to the Canadian government (and American data echos this).
In terms of unionization rate, in 2016 Canada was at 28.4% [1]. By comparison, the US peak was 34.8% in 1954 [2] . (It is now 10.7% [3], which is slightly higher than 10%, not less than.)
While the "~" can justify a rounding to the nearest 10% instead of 5%, that ended up hiding a difference of 6.5%, or 1/5th of the total unionized population. From what I can tell, the current rate of around 28% corresponds to the US unionization rate in about 1970 [3], and not its peak in 1954.
The US peak of 34.8% is closer to the Canadian peak of 37.9% in 1984 than it is to 30%, and corresponds to the Canadian unionization rate in 1991 [1].
The coverage rate for both countries is of course higher. For 2017 in Canada it was 30.4% [5] and in US is was 11.9% [3].
[1] "http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/170908/cg-a003-eng....
[2] "At their peak in 1954, 34.8% of all U.S. wage and salary workers belonged to unions" - http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/20/for-american... .
[3] http://unionstats.gsu.edu/All-Wage-and-Salary-Workers.htm . The BLS gives the same unionization numbers for 2017 (but no coverage numbers) at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm .
[4] http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/170908/cg-a003-eng....
[5] https://www.statista.com/statistics/442980/canada-union-cove...
Looking at places like Connecticut/Illinois/New Jersey it is causing starvation of public services to meet pension obligations despite already high taxation.
They are caught in a trap since if they raise taxes further (and/or decrease services) they will lose those most capable of moving- who also happen to pay the most taxes. This is already starting to play out[1].
Private sector unions are tasting the fruits of their corruption via the mafia and general unwillingness to integrate with long term industry needs, ala the German model.
Its incredibly unfortunate, since a modern, ethical and foresightful private union would serve the greater good of the country better than just about anything else I can think of.
0: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammillsap/2016/06/01/public-p...
1: http://www.courant.com/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-tax-migratio...