ABSTRACT
Except in railroading, nowhere has the decline of unionism during the past few decades been greater than in construction. Most unions lost ground during this period, but building trades unions lost it faster and from a higher starting point, and they did it despite the fact that many of the generally recognized causes of unionization’s decline didn’t apply to them. On the other hand, the fall has stabilized in recent years, and even reversed slightly. Furthermore, though diminished, building trades unions continue to boast membership densities half again as high as others recruiting in the private economy. Understanding the extent of their fall and the reasons for it is one of my two primary purposes. The other is recognizing the unheralded role that public support in the form of prevailing wage laws and union-favoring government procurement decisions have played in both the plunge and where it stopped. Continued elevated levels of unionism in the industry are tied to this public support.
