what caused the decline of organized labor 
in the united states organized labor began to decline in the 1980s due to anti union government policies and increased competition from abroad one of the first acts of the reagan administration was to fire all 11 300 air traffic controllers who were on strike against the federal aviation administration in the following decades free trade agreements and globalization made it easier for companies to outsource their operations to foreign labor markets thereby reducing the bargaining power of domestic unions the bottom lineorganized labor represents a major political force for the working class by joining together to advocate for their shared goals unionized workers can negotiate for better wages and working conditions however the strength of organized labor has declined in recent decades largely due to increased competition from low wage workers abroad 