Those trade unions that possess the economic power to threaten continued production of goods or services, and that actually have the political right to exercise such power, have helped to raise the living standards of both their members and others. Genuine success, however, is ultimately determined by the ability of the employer and the society to absorb the consequences of granting union demands. In democracies, for example, unions have made significant gains during periods of economic expansion; during recessions, however, unions turn to governments for programs to ensure alternative job opportunities, income maintenance, and other forms of relief. In developing nations, after political independence is won, workers' organizations are more limited in their influence, which depends not on their past services but on new economic realities.

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