Dear Dear Vepr 12:
Great question! I would say that market conditions have not required it ... yet. Mind, the auto industry has seen draconian wage-cuts. This is where Prof. Gordon's work matters. If as he says the US has entered a new stage of permanent economic stagnation plus expanding social inequality and poverty under Capitalism, then the question is not 'whether' but 'when' equally brutal wage cuts will be seen across the spectrum.
Capitalism can allow some concessions [wage increases, work-place safety, additional benefits] so long as the economy is expanding at a rate which [in addition to those concessions] also affords an acceptable level of profit. But when the economy is contracting, market conditions [i.e., turning a profit] necessitates the removal of those concessions. Hence, the social antagonism of labor negotiations. Workers recoil at contract offers, and corporations reply that they have no choice but to make cuts in order to remain profitable. This is doubly so when other companies produce an equivalent product of equal value. I find it deeply ironic and mildly humorous/amusing that these conditions under market Capitalism can be discussed only by employing good, orthodox, Marxian analysis.
IMT