The direction of mergers is crucial because different configurations promote
different balances of class power. In general, as Marxist political economist
Howard Botwinick notes, “a number of writers have argued that the increasing
conglomeration of U.S. corporations in the 1960s and 1970s played a major role
in tipping the balance against labor in industries such as coal, meat-packing,
printing, and steel.” 17 Conglomerates are better placed to resist strikes or even
unionization in any one line of production because of their resources in other
subsidiaries. Here is what labor economist Charles Craypo wrote about the
advantages to management of conglomerates just as conglomeration reached
its apex:

The conglomerate employer is, by definition, a multi-industry enterprise.
This results in greater employer-operating mobility than that of a union
whose bargaining structure and representation rights rarely cross indus-
try lines, greater financial leverage than that of a union whose members
depend on a single business operation for their livelihood, and greater ad-
ministrative range than a union whose decision-making options are limited
to a single plant or industry. These administrative, financial, and mobility
advantages enable the conglomerate to frustrate the collective bargaining
process and impair the bargaining strength of the unions.