Hard Times for Union Organizing

 Amazon warehouse workers at the company's Bessemer Alabama facility voted 1798 to 738 not join the Retail Wholesale Department Store Union after a year long organizing effort. Many observers said it was an uphill battle likely to fail because the workers were paid more than $15 per hour and had healthcare benefits already. But union officials blamed the company for unfair tactics. There were mandatory captive audience meetings where employees were forced to listen to anti union propaganda. Amazon barred workers from talking about the union and didn't allow organizers on company property. The RWDU may appeal the vote to the National Labor Relations Board. 

This is one of many big defeats for unions trying to organize workers. The retail giant Wal Mart has consistently thwarted union efforts to organize it's employees. The once powerful United Auto Workers has failed repeatedly to organize workers at foreign owned plants including Nissan at Canton Mississippi in 2017 and Volkswagen in Chattanooga Tennessee in 2019.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 10.8 % of all workers belong to a union in 2020. That includes 6.7% of all private sector workers and 34.8 % of all public employees. At it's height organized labor had 33% of all American workers in 1954. While the shift from a manufacturing to service economy along with free trade and globalization has cost millions of union jobs, the environment is less hospitable to organizing as well. Republicans have used their dominance of state governments to push through right to work laws in 27 states. These laws assure workers can't be required to join a union or pay dues. In 2011 Republican Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin effectively stripped public employee unions of their bargaining power through a law that restricted their rights only to negotiating pay raises that could not exceed inflation, requiring unions to win a majority of eligible workers votes on contracts to keep their bargaining rights, and barring the union from requiring dues. Since that time membership in the state employees union and teachers belonging to the American Federation of Teachers have fallen by nearly half in Wisconsin according to the Washington Post. Even worse unions and activists successfully mobilized a recall election that failed to remove Walker in 2012. 

What about Democrats union's traditional allies ? Leading up to the 2009 Presidential election organized labor was pressing for the Employee Free Choice Act which among other things would allow workers to gain union recognition when a majority sign cards rather than voting in elections which unions claim can be swayed by employer intimidation. Barack Obama said he supported the act on the campaign trail. However once in office Obama backed off and did nothing. The legislation died in the Senate due to a Republican filibuster and opposition from some Democrats who were the majority. 

The conservative dominated Supreme Court has also made it harder on unions. In Janus v. AFSCME the court ruled that fair share laws and agreements requiring non union workers who benefit form union contracts to pay union dues are unconstitutional. This has undermined unions' main source of funding. 

Many workers do not support unions either. They think unionized labor is lazy and selfish. A lot of people feel lucky to have a job. Unions are viewed as anti business and hindering growth. In an individualistic country like the U.S many workers would rather go it alone. Others believe they can trust their employers to do the right thing when it comes to pay and benefits. More importantly workers worry that supporting a union will cause companies to move away. They don't want to lose jobs, pay, or benefits. This is especially true in poor and depressed communities. If people are making $ 15 per hour or a little more they don't want to risk joining a union. One observer said people depend on their employers for everything. They worry joining a union will antagonize the company. Intimidation and firings are a reality. Government enforcement of laws against this are lax. Besides there's nothing government can do when companies move away. People struggling to make ends meet know the realities. The Service Employees International Union has been able to organize some janitors and home care workers. However it's not enough. The gig economy, increased use of temporary workers, and classifying workers as independent contractors further complicates things. These workers lack all kinds of benefits and legal protections especially workers termed independent contractors and those in the gig economy.     

Some on the left including union officials believe labor must go beyond collective bargaining and organizing. They think unions must be part of broader struggles for social and economic justice. Issues like racism, supporting undocumented immigrants, and climate change should be taken up by organized labor. This may be happening already with groups like the Service Employees International Union through it's involvement with local campaigns to raise the Minimum Wage - The Fight for $15 per hour. If people know you care about things important to them they will support you in return. More importantly unions can be part of struggles for positive social change.

As long as there's capitalism unions will be necessary. Employers have the power to do whatever they want when workers are not organized, and unions check that power. Everything that makes work safe, decent, and good paying is the result of unions. Our economy is less equal, less livable, or prosperous for the average worker because of the decline and attack on organized labor. The survival of the middle class depends on strong unions.