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Five reasons for optimism about unions this Labor Day
The week following Labor Day, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) will hold its first-ever “open convention,” which will welcome many non-labor allies, in Los Angeles. With unions representing just 11.3 percent of the workforce, previous Labor Days have been greeted by countless stories about unions’ decades-long decline, and pessimistic predictions about their chances for survival.
But for those feeling despondent about the decline of unions, and its terrible consequences for American workers and the economy, there are real reasons to be hopeful. Here are five good reasons for optimism:
First, most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a June 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 51 percent of Americans hold favorable views of labor unions, a 10 percent increase from the number in the same poll conducted two years earlier. This is first time since January 2007 that a majority of the public has viewed unions favorably. 80 percent of “liberal Democrats” hold favorable views on unions. Women, minorities and youth – key groups for organized labor -- hold the most pro-union attitudes. There is no straightforward relationship between public approval for unions and union growth, but the labor movement must figure out how to bring into its fold the majority of Americans who like unions.
Second, bucking national trends, union membership in California increased by a whopping 110,000 members in 2012, even as it fell by 368,000 nationwide. Much of the increase in California, which has the nation’s largest number of union members, was among healthcare workers and Latino workers. In several other states with growing Latino populations, membership grew more modestly, but these states may soon follow California’s lead.
But for those feeling despondent about the decline of unions, and its terrible consequences for American workers and the economy, there are real reasons to be hopeful. Here are five good reasons for optimism:
First, most Americans hold favorable views of unions. According to a June 2013 poll by the Pew Research Center, 51 percent of Americans hold favorable views of labor unions, a 10 percent increase from the number in the same poll conducted two years earlier. This is first time since January 2007 that a majority of the public has viewed unions favorably. 80 percent of “liberal Democrats” hold favorable views on unions. Women, minorities and youth – key groups for organized labor -- hold the most pro-union attitudes. There is no straightforward relationship between public approval for unions and union growth, but the labor movement must figure out how to bring into its fold the majority of Americans who like unions.
Second, bucking national trends, union membership in California increased by a whopping 110,000 members in 2012, even as it fell by 368,000 nationwide. Much of the increase in California, which has the nation’s largest number of union members, was among healthcare workers and Latino workers. In several other states with growing Latino populations, membership grew more modestly, but these states may soon follow California’s lead.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/318795-five-reasons-for-optimism-about-unions-this-labor-day