A work council is a representative body of employees selected to provide direct input into the company’s operational activities. Typically seen only in European nations, the work council provides MANAGEMENT with ideas of what the employees would like to see at their particular company. The councils are open to all employees, unionist or nonunionists. Council members, who are elected by a ballot of all employees to represent the company’s employee pool with regard to business functions, address topics such as the financial state of the business, the forecasted plans, EMPLOYMENT trends, new working methods and any organizational changes that may take place. Councils can act as a negotiating team for wages and conditions but are not required to do so. In most cases, UNIONs still maintain the right to conduct any salary negotiations. U.S. MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONs that operate in Europe currently consult with the elected work councils to provide for easier flow of information between management and employees. Studies have shown that only 30 percent of employees think that they are adequately consulted about workplace issues, and 70 percent do not think that their thoughts are considered. On the other hand, 70 percent of managers believe that they sufficiently consider employees’ thoughts and concerns. Union memberships in the United States has been declining over the last two decades from one in every two workers to one in five. Academics have identified the development of a representational gap between management and employees as one result of the decrease in union membership. With decreased union involvement, firms are starting to see that employee representation is needed to increase employee moral and are implementing work councils. Employees who think that their opinions are taken into consideration have a higher level of JOB SATISFACTION than those who do not think their opinions are considered. The best-known work council is the European Works Council (EWC), which was originally established to inform employees about future business decisions and engagements. The EWC’s goal is to ensure that any decision made that affects employees will be properly communicated to all workers. European companies with over 1,000 employees typically elect 150 members to participate in the work councils. The involvement of employees in decision making gives them a sense of interest in the company’s direction and profitability and often assists in achieving organizational goals.