Just as employer bargaining power is enhanced by its ability to take a strike, union bargaining power is increased by its ability to impose costs with a strike. Union wage gains in bargaining are higher where significant barriers to entry exist for new employers, industrial concentration is high and foreign competition is low. Within the industry, high union coverage by a dominant union also facilitates bargaining power. Union bargaining power has decreased significantly in the past 25 years as barriers to entry have decreased through mergers and acquisitions that have been facili tated by substantial expansions of investment operations. increased globalization, industrial concentration has fallen, the ability of employers to pass wage increases to customers.
Union bargaining power increases when it exerts some control over the external labor supply or occupational practices and where rights and benefits are portable between employers and the occupation establishes performance standards and disciplinary procedures