Labor Day holiday comes with labor unions flexing their muscle
HOUSTON - When the Labor Department reported that 187,000 new jobs were created in August, it was a sign that hiring is slowing.
While the jobs-report beat estimates, by a little, wages grew and more people re-entered the workforce, looking for a job. It also comes at a time when unions are flexing their muscle to demand what they feel they're worth.
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American Airlines flight attendants are the latest to authorize a strike against the carrier, as contract negotiations continue amidst demands for better pay and quality of life. United Auto Workers have also overwhelmingly voted in favor of calling a strike if negotiations fail with Ford, General Motors, and Jeep-maker Stellantis, before the current contract expires September 14. A 40% pay hike, and a 32-hour work-week are among a long-list of demands.
Dallas-based labor and employment lawyer Andy Trusevich says organized labor has gotten decidedly louder, in recent years, "The environment for workers is starting to look like back in the 70's."
Union membership, across the board, grew by about 200,000, last year. The growth was fueled, in part, by growing pay disparities and technology, such as the issues that have had Hollywood writers and actors walking a picket line, for months, with no end in sight.
There's evidence that labor has leverage. In August, UPS workers signed a lucrative new contract after threatening a strike. On a smaller scale, Amazon workers got a pay raise, in the face of organizing efforts.
Trusevich believes, for the foreseeable future, it's just the beginning.
"As more and more young people enter the workforce, I think you're going to see a rise in unions," he says. "They're not afraid to pick up the phone, and call a union, and say 'I want improved working conditions.'"
With about 16-million union members across the country, a recent NPR analysis finds, as a percentage of the workforce, membership fell last year to about one of every 10 workers. In the 1950's, by comparison, that number was nearly one in three. The difference, may be, in todays world, there are a lot more options for those voices to be heard.