Union organizing in the United States has increased dramatically over the past year. Starbucks (177 stores in 30 states) and Amazon workers have successfully formed unions in some stores and areas. Filings for union elections have been submitted for Trader Joe’s grocery stores in two states, at an REI store in Manhattan, Apple stores in two cities, and a Target in Virginia. Employees of an Activision subsidiary have unionized, and technology workers at The New York Times have become a bargaining unit.
“What strikes me about what’s going on now is that it’s not being done by professional organizers,” said one labor expert quoted by Consortium News. “A lot of these campaigns are being initiated by the workers themselves, much as auto workers did it in the 1930s.”
The tight labor market, indignation at record profits by employers, and the visibility of various social movements may be helping the drive, along with the devastating economic conditions that are pushing many to the wall.
What does this social phenomenon say about the potential to organize the U.S. population around profound concepts?
