If unions have any hope to become relevant in today’s economy they will need to implement more ideas like this. The Steelworkers have launched an associate membership, costing about $40 a year, for people who are not employed in a Steelworkers shop (or not employed in any shop at all – which, lets face it, covers a lot of former Steelworker members). They qualify for discounted services, training and education opportunities and (most important for the union) become connected to the Steelworkers through a special website for associate members. The SEIU has launched a similar affinity group called “Purple Ocean” (which is a pretty dumb name if you ask me – nobody did). The basic idea is to create a “union-lite” that people can join without actually having to go through the hassle of trying to organize a union within their employer. I believe this is the model unions must adopt to survive – think AARP or NRA as opposed to traditional unions.
