Unionization Of The Armed Forces

The biggest labor union growth in recent years has been in the public sector of the United States economy. The traditional boundary for union activity in the public secotr has been the military. Even this boundary has been crossed in a number of foreign countries. There currently exists in the United States an extreme shortage of available information concerning military unions. Specifically, there is little information concerning organization, operation, advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of foreign military unions. The organization and operation of the present military unions of Austria, Denmark, and Sweden were analyzed to determine their advantages, disadvantages, and limitations. (Author).

The possibility exists that a labor union within the military services of the United States could become a reality with the advent of an all-volunteer armed force. The actual probability of such an event being indeterminant at this time, the situation should be closely studied to determine the advantages and disadvantages of military unionization are presented along with the possible limitations on a military union should it become a reality. Two military unions operating with some degree of success in West Germany and Norway, respectively, are analyzed. Limitations common to both the Norwegian and West German unions are discussed to determine their possible applicability to the armed forces of the United States.