The National Labor Relations Act still functions, just barely, for Starbucks workers. Employees at fast-food franchises face even worse odds under federal labor law.
The gains in union membership in 2023 were driven entirely by workers under the age of 45, says Heidi Shierholz, president of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
With public support for unions at near-record highs and new federal rules that actually enable organizing, unions need to mount massive campaigns.
About 11,000 city workers took to the picket lines on Tuesday in the first work stoppage in the country's second-largest city in more than 40 years.
Child labor was common in urban, industrial America for most of the country’s history. It’s now making a disturbing comeback: lawmakers across the US are undertaking concerted efforts to weaken or repeal statutes that prohibit employing children.
This marks the first time Starbucks has settled with the National Labor Relations Board over allegations of violating labor law in connection with the union campaign.
14 states have now introduced bills putting children at risk
For decades, union-busting bosses and Republican politicians have had a powerful ally in their war on organized labor: the United States Supreme Court.
Last year, the union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 10.1% — the lowest on record. The absolute number of American workers in unions did grow in 2022 — by approximately 200,000. But the number of non-union jobs grew faster.
Over decades, a boutique of consultants, industrial psychologists, and specialist lawyers--spending an estimated $340 million a year--has played a significant role in subduing the labor movement, and has helped keep U.S. unions pinned down to this day.
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