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Much of this decline has been driven by declines in private sector union membership. employees (10.3%) is a member of a union, less than half the share of union members 40 years ago. These shifts sharply cut down the share of U.S. Deregulation and other policy changes like right-to-work laws have decreased union strength.
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Globalization and free trade agreements made it easier for employers to offshore jobs to less expensive labor markets, and automation and other technological advances have also decreased the number of workers in unionized jobs. Workers in heavily unionized fields like manufacturing lost power amid the economic downturn and high unemployment of the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the height of labor’s strength in the U.S., the union membership rate among all workers was 34.8%.īut unionization has been on a steady downward trajectory in recent decades. Unions have been a driving force behind many reforms that are now fundamental labor protections, like the minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor laws, and an influential interest in U.S. has historically been a powerful advocate for workers. And under President Joe Biden, an avowed labor advocate, Congress has been deliberating legislation that would strengthen unions and make it easier to organize. Petitions for union elections filed at the National Labor Relations Board are up by more than 50% over last year. Workers at major corporations like Starbucks, Amazon, and Apple have led successful union drives. Photo Credit: Zivica Kerkez / ShutterstockĢ022 has brought some of the most noteworthy victories for organized labor in the U.S.