street. Lewis – In the midwest, attempts to unionize this year continue at a faster pace than expected, and are on track to nearly match last year’s high number.
And in the first half of this year, 49 private sector workplaces applied for representation in the region, compared to 108 for all of 2022, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis of National Labor Relations Board data. The 2022 number was the highest in eight years, helped by a rising cost of living, a regulatory crackdown at Starbucks and historically low unemployment rates.
Attempts to unionize are on the rise in the Midwest and nationally, said Jake Rosenfeld, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington. But, he added, “I’m not sure it’s big enough to change the broader dynamic.”
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In January, annual data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that although the total number of union members has risen, it has not grown at the same pace as the total workforce. As a result, the percentage of workers represented by unions decreased slightly to 10.1%.
This year saw difficult labor negotiations, strikes and protests. Reuters reported, citing preliminary data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, that about 295,500 workers took part in strikes as of July this year. This puts 2023 on track to become the busiest year for strikes since 2019.
Labor experts had expected this year’s numbers to be held back by broader economic conditions. Earlier this year, with many economists predicting a recession, labor experts predicted that the expected economic downturn would make workers less at risk of unionizing.
At the time, it was generally believed that economic storm clouds were forming, said Harley Shaiken, a University of California-Berkeley professor who specializes in work and the global economy.
“Now, a lot of that has gone. That doesn’t mean we’re completely off the hook economically, we’re never. But the possibility of avoiding a recession is real,” Shaikin said. “Overall, the economy looks less threatening.”
Doug Swanson, field specialist at the University of Missouri and coordinator of the Work Studies Program at the University of Missouri-St. Lewis added that the expectation of an economic downturn dampening attempts at union formation “has not yet materialized.”
“I don’t see that early momentum reversing,” Swanson said.
However, experts say, the overall picture for unions is mixed.
Union membership has been in decline at the national level since the 1950s. It peaked at 35% of the workforce in 1954, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Public approval of labor unions has reached 67%, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. This is just down from last year’s 71%, the highest level in 57 years.
“Despite all the energy, despite the broader public support, regulation in the private sector remains very difficult,” Rosenfeld said.
The long-term question, Swanson said, is how unions and employers alike will evolve as the US population ages, which will lead to larger shifts in labor dynamics.
“It’s going to get more difficult. We haven’t reached a bottom line of the workforce shortage,” Swanson said. “The business, in and of itself, is at a crossroads.”
Another week, another strike across America. And in June, workers at at least 120 Starbucks locations went on strike, the company said. Earlier this month, thousands of hotel workers across Southern California went on strike. And this week, the Hollywood writers’ strike reached its third month. The cast joined them on July 13. Major strike activity will increase by nearly fifty percent in 2022, according to the US Department of Labor. The Economic Policy Institute says more than 120,000 workers took part in massive strikes last year. What led to the return of the labor movement in the United States? For one thing, the pandemic has accelerated union organizing, reporter Alex Press told The Response podcast recently. “We’ve seen this kind of brief, this kind of early rise in unionization in this country, and it’s very clearly rooted in our response to the pandemic that has been raising the stakes again in life-or-death situations for many frontline workers,” she said. Lower unemployment also gave workers more leverage to organize and even strike, says Joseph Brock, president of Reliant Labor Consultants. “This tight labor market, caused by the coronavirus, has been a boon for unions,” Brock said. The shift could be There is a whole generation of young workers who are discovering unions as the most reliable way to get better wages and working conditions,” Susan Schurman, a professor at Rutgers University, told Money.com. Low wages, poor working conditions, and poor job security are cited as reasons. But a Milken Institute expert told Yahoo Finance that the Hollywood strike alone could cause $4 billion in losses to the US economy. “It’s not just affecting these industries in California. But he’s already doing it in New York, and he’s doing it in Atlanta. He’s doing it in Albuquerque, he’s doing it in Pittsburgh. He does it in all kinds of places where he actually shoots.” Kevin Clauden said. What are the expectations for the future? Unions once played a central role in the economic, political, and cultural life of America. But today, says Anthony Carnevale of Georgetown University, unions face an uphill battle to regain that influence. “They have largely lost their power due to globalization, technology and deindustrialisation,” he says. Take, for example, the Amazon Labor Union, as it is called, which won the election with more than 8,000 workers in a Staten Island warehouse last year. The press applauded the achievement, but the group has not yet reached a collective bargaining agreement. “The biggest problem facing unions will continue to be reaching the first collective bargaining agreement,” says Brock. In terms of politics in the short term, unions pose both political opportunities and challenges. Balancing the needs of workers with the development of the economy has proven difficult and the president said, “It’s tough for a president who has been so closely associated with organized labor. I promised you I would be the most pro-union president in American history because I know this: In a crisis, America always counts on you.” Joe Biden told the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in a speech last year. This alliance won him votes from union workers. But now, those close ties could hurt a president who has always tried to reach out to American workers. Meanwhile, those marching on the picket line continue. See more: AI fears fuel Hollywood labor strikes