(1) The unions risk losing public sympathy if they overestimate support for strike action that disrupts essential public services like health, education, and transport. (2) Union membership has declined significantly over the past 40 years to just 25% of the UK workforce currently, with only 16% membership in the private sector compared to 56% in the public sector. (3) If unions fail to compromise on government cuts to public spending and services, it will further damage their standing with the public and make it easier for the government to pass laws limiting union protections, accelerating the decline of the union movement.

1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/damianreece/8001185/The-unions-risk-losing-the-publics-sympathy.html
The unions risk losing the public's sympathy
The TUC risks overestimating public support for strike action in a move that could hasten the
movement's demise.
By Damian Reece
Published: 6:00AM BST 14 Sep 2010
Rail unions recently held a two day strike on the London tube network. Photo: PA
Trades unionism periodically picks a fight with the government of the day. For a while our media are filled
with the faces of angry old men shouting about pay and jobs.
After winning the odd battle, the war goes against the unions and their movement takes another step
backwards, fading in relevance with every unsuccessful confrontation.
Another such "battle" is upon us judging by the TUC Conference in Manchester. But how much more self-
inflicted punishment can the unions take?
The legacy of the movement's leaders, past and present, is membership down to just 25pc of the UK
workforce. Within that, only 16pc of private sector workers are in a union while the public sector has a
56pc membership rate.
Even more striking (excuse the pun) is the fact that, although public sector workers account for just 20pc of
the total workforce, they are currently behind 79pc of days lost to industrial action.
From the 1960s through to the early 1980s heavy industry provided a heartland for unions, which was lost
as the economy was forced to restructure to reflect a changing post-war world. The movement retreated to
the public sector.
But as that is being forced to change, the unions appear to be adopting the same unsuccessful tactics of the
past. The lessons of history seem lost on TUC general secretary Brendan Barber and his fellow union
leaders. During the past 40 years private sector employers and employees have moved with the times.
That process has not been without friction but we arrived at a point during this recession when strikes and
mass redundancies were noticeable by their absence. Private sector union membership tells us that union
leaders have failed to remain relevant. If they insist on promising to force the Coalition into a U-turn on
public finances, and fail, their standing among public sector workers will plummet too.
The TUC risks overestimating the level of public support for strike action that affects essential services.
Health, education and transport represent investments we have all paid for.
The population is likely to increasingly resent unions capable of damaging these investments through strike
action voted for by an often small minority of members. And if unions lose the public's sympathy then that
will make it all the more easy for the Coalition to force through changes to legislation that will curtail their
already generous protections in law.
Negotiating a degree of compromise on cuts would be the modern, sensible way of proceeding that might
preserve jobs and avoid further erosion in union membership.
Taking the opposite stance will surely hasten the union movement's already alarming demise.