By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

Back in February, the New York State United Teachers union launched a $1.5 million multi-media campaign advocating against Gov. David Paterson's proposed 2010-11 state budget.

Paterson, a month earlier, had called for a 5 percent, or $1.1 billion, cut in state aid for education. In response, NYSUT began running two 30-second television advertisements across the state. The campaign included print ads and billboards.

The union, with 600,000-plus members, lobbied hard. In the end, however, Albany lawmakers passed a budget that includes $1.4 billion in school aid cuts.

Does that mean NYSUT, one of the largest unions in the state, is losing its power? Michael Preskop doesn't think so. He is Western New York regional staff director.

"In negotiations, you don't always get what you want," said Preskop.

His district represents 32,000 teachers, professors, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and health-care professionals in education in Western New York.

"You do the best you can, you advocate the best you can and you get as much as you can," he said.

Some unions, such as NYSUT, continue to hold sway in the fight for workers' rights. That sway often crosses over to political power, especially for public-sector unions with large memberships that get involved in legislative matters.

But union representation among private-sector industries continues to dwindle and some say that equates to declining influence. A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report in January said that 7.2 percent of private-sector workers belonged to unions in 2009. In comparison, the union membership rate was 37.4 percent for public-sector workers.

Industrial relations expert Howard Foster, professor emeritus at the University at Buffalo, said unions representing private industry, such as auto, railroad and steel workers, are in a difficult spot.

"It's hard to be optimistic, I think, for a resurgence" in private-sector union membership, Foster said. "There's really not that far to go anymore when membership is down to 7 percent."

The history of labor unions grew out of the craft industry during the 1800s. The Industrial Revolution spurred union migration to the factories, railroads and utility companies. Membership peaked in the 1950s when 35 percent of the U.S. working population was unionized. At the time, there was almost no unionization in the public sector, including government.

Since then, a shift from private industry to public sector has occurred. In fact, BLS statistics show that local government workers in 2009 reported the highest union membership rate, 43.3 percent, among all workers. Members in this category include teachers, police officers and fire fighters.

The decline in private industry unionization is evident at United Steelworkers District 4, which represents the entire Northeast including Buffalo. The district peaked at 70,000 members during the 1940s and 1950s and now totals 61,000, local district director Bill Pienta said. The union represents workers in manufacturing, health care, administrative support roles and government.

The drop isn't the result of one factor, but several, said Pienta. He cited automation and productivity improvements, the relocation of employers out of state or overseas and "30 years of failed trade practices" that put people out of work. But he maintains that the union still has power.

"We've got some real ideas and we are pushing for legislation and prominent new ideas in manufacturing," Pienta said. "We have been pushing politicians throughout the country to get (Made in America) legislation passed."

Membership has also declined at Teamsters Local 264, one of four local Teamsters organizations. Combined membership for all four totals 14,000 to 15,000, down from 15,000 to 20,000 in past years, said Richard Lipsitz Jr., Joint Counsel 46 political action coordinator. But the union, which represents truck drivers, food factory workers, freight haulers and delivery workers, remains necessary, he said.

"It's relevant because people work for other people and as long as that's the care, there's going to be a need for organizations to defend living standards and working conditions," Lipsitz said. "Labor unions are every bit as relevant as they ever were."

Preskop of the local NYSUT agrees and said unions will arise in sectors such as the fast-food industry and may regain traction in such sectors as automotive.

"Where businesses are able to recreate themselves in a model that's relevant in the 21st century, that's where we will see those union re-emerge and become a vital force," he said. "Unions are very much a needed counterbalance for management."