2023 is shaping up to be an interesting year for labor and management. New unions are being formed, others are handling challenges, and the economy is exerting major forces on both labor and management.
This week, I would like to take a quick look at three factors impacting labor and management.
Union Membership Declined in 2022. Or Did It? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of workers who are union members declined in 2022. Only 10.1% of workers are now part of unions, down from 10.3% in 2021. This represents the lowest percentage since the Bureau began studying the data in 1983.
That’s the bad news for unions, but there is an upside. With the growths seen in new recognitions and in new employers, the total number of union members rose to 273,000 last year to 14.3 million members. This represents an increase of nearly 2% over 2021.
How did the numbers both increase and decrease? Overall employment grew by nearly 4%, but most of it was in nonunion jobs. The Bureau explained, “This disproportionately large increase in [total employment] compared with the increase in the number of union members led to a decrease in the union membership rate.”
Union membership remains much stronger in the public sector, as nearly one-third of workers belong to a union. However, workers aged 16 to 24 were less than half as likely to be union members as workers aged 45 to 54.
The AFL-CIO noted that in spite of the lower membership, there are reasons to be optimistic. They cite organizing victories last year among teaching assistants, baristas, museum workers and video game developers, among others. AFL-CIO president, Liz Shuler, said, “Organizing victories are happening in every industry, public and private, and every sector of our economy all across the country,” Shuler said.” The wave of organizing will continue to gather steam in 2023 and beyond despite broken labor laws that rig the system against workers.”
Voluntary Recognition of New Unions is Increasing. Voluntary recognition is a process in which a company recognizes a union rather than forcing a representation election to prove the union has the support of a majority of its workers. The Center for American Progress notes this option has become increasingly common in several industries. A growing number of businesses are now recognizing that their workers want unions and are opting out of fighting workers in intense union election campaigns.
We have written about the huge sums of money some employers spend to fight unions and punish workers who join. This has happened with large employers, fast food companies, transportation companies, retail firms, and many others. The resulting damage to morale and productivity have been documented, but are prices these employers have been willing to pay.
The Center notes, “Pro-worker businesses can adopt alternatives to the contentious election process—voluntary recognition and neutrality agreements—to opt out of the scorched-earth campaign against a union election. The voluntary recognition process is a long-held legal means of demonstrating majority support for a union as a bargaining representative. Once a majority of workers have signed cards authorizing the union to represent them, a business can choose to recognize their union without forcing organizers to petition the NLRB for an election.
“Under a neutrality agreement, businesses agree not to engage in typical anti-union practices such as forcing workers to listen to anti-union arguments from management. These alternatives—which are features of other nations’ labor organizing systems, including in several Canadian provinces—offer a path for workers to win unions with a far less bitter campaign.”
Both voluntary recognition and neutrality agreements recognize the desire of employers to seek recognition while continuing to show respect for their employees. This is a trend we hope will continue to grow.
Unions and Workplace Safety – a new law in New York state which punishes criminally negligent companies for construction workers’ deaths with fines of up to $500,00 just went into effect. Carlos’ Law is intended to create safer working conditions for construction workers in New York City, where deaths at construction sites have reached a 5-year high.
Last year, 22 workers died at construction sites across the city, and non-union job sites, where workers often complain of a lack of training and dangerous conditions, account for the majority of those deaths.
Unions and their negotiated contracts establish higher standards for workplace safety than those often found among employers. Union members generally receive higher levels of training prior to earning journeyman’s cards. Not only do union members earn higher wages and benefits, they are more likely to return home from work with the name number of fingers and toes they had at the start of their shifts.
These are just three of the trends Columbus Area Labor-Management Committee works to share with our members and help both labor and management to consider ways t work together to study their impacts and ways they can work together to deal with them. They know they can accomplish more together,
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CALMC activities, including our blog, are made possible in part by the continuing support of our members, such as
- American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 8
- American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1656
- Central Ohio Labor Council, AFL-CIO
- Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council
- Educational Service Center of Central Ohio
- Electrical Industries Labor-Management Cooperation Committee, including
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 683
Central Ohio Chapter, National Association of Electrical Contractors
- Ohio Civil Service Employees Association/AFSCME Local 11 and the Union Education Trust
- Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 189
- Roofers, Local 86
- Seafarers/United Industrial Workers
- Sheet Metal Workers Local 24
- Skinner Diesel Repair
- State Council of Professional Educators (SCOPE)
- State of Ohio Office of Collective Bargaining
Our activities are also made possible in part by a grant from the City of Columbus.
Contact us for more information about Columbus Area Labor-Management Committee or to become a member.
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