User:NameOtherThanReal/Labor history of the United States

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Rise in union activity (2016 - present)

The number of union members nationwide increased from 2016 to 2017, and some states saw union growth for the first time in several years or decades. Nearly half a million workers went on strike in 2018 and 2019, the largest numbers in three decades. Union growth in 2017 was primarily millennial workers. For instance, about 76 percent of new UAW union members during their increase came from workers under the age of 35. Although the total number of union members increased 1.7 percent in 2017, the Economic Policy Institute noted that year-to-year union membership often fluctuates due to hiring or layoffs in particular sectors, and cautioned against interpreting one-year changes as trends. The percentage of the workforce belonging to unions was 10.7 percent in 2017, unchanged over the previous year, but down from 11.1 percent in 2015, and 12.1 percent in 2007.

In recent years, efforts have also been made to extend the protections of the National Labor Relations Act, which excluded domestic workers and farm workers, to those groups on the state level. The National Domestic Workers' Alliance has successfully advocated for a Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights in New York, California, and Hawaii, while several states have passed legislation expanding the rights of farm workers.

On July 15th, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reported that the amount of union representation petitions filed with the board increased by 58% in the first three quarters of the 2022 fiscal year. This was more than the total amount of petitions filed in the entire 2021 fiscal year.

Teacher strikes

Main article: 2018–19 education workers' strikes in the United States

In 2018, a series of statewide teacher strikes and protests happened garnering nationwide attention due to their success, as well as the fact that several of them were in states where public-employee strikes are illegal. Many of the major strikes were in Republican majority state legislatures, leading to the name "Red State Revolt". Protests were held in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Additional smaller protests were held in Kentucky and North Carolina. The protests spread to a bus driver strike in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, where nearly 250 bus drivers participated. The strikes included an adjunct faculty strike at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia leading to an increase in adjunct wages.

Unionization in the food service and grocery industries

The food service industry has one of the lowest unionization rates in the United States, with just 1.2% of workers belonging to a union in 2020 and 2021.

Starbucks

Further Information: Starbucks unions and List of Starbucks union petitions in the United States

In late 2021, a Starbucks store located in Buffalo, New York became Starbucks' only unionized location among 9,000 stores in the United States, joining Workers United of the Service Employees International Union. A second location in Buffalo followed, winning an election certified by the NLRB in January 2022. During this time, the number of stores filing petitions to the NLRB grew to over ten locations, seven of them being outside of the Buffalo area.

The number of Starbucks stores that have decided to vote on unionization has since grown significantly. As of August 2022, 209 Starbucks locations have voted for unionized, with another 45 locations voting against unionization.

Trader Joe's

Further Information: Trader Joe's unions

In late July 2022, workers at a Trader Joe's in Hadley, Massachusetts voted to become the first unionized location in the grocery store chain. Workers at this location chose to create an independent union called Trader Joe's United, and received administrative and legal support from already existing unions, but decided not to become a part of any larger established union. Two locations, one in Boulder, Colorado, and one in Minneapolis, also filed for unionization around this time. On August 12th, 2022, the Minneapolis location went on to become the second store to unionize, joining Trader Joe's United. Comparisons to the unionization efforts of Starbucks locations were made following the success of the Minneapolis vote, with workers of the two respective unions both publicly supporting one another.

As of September 23rd, 2022 workers in Brooklyn, New York have petitioned for unionization with the NLRB, and would potentially become the third unionized location out of over 500 Trader Joe's stores.

Chipotle

In late June 2022, a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Augusta, Maine became the chain's first location to petition for a union election, looking to organize independently as Chipotle United, citing issues regarding understaffing as well as crew and food safety. In that same month, Chipotle decided to permanently close the location, leading to workers filing a complaint with the NLRB and accusing Chipotle of union-busting. Chipotle has denied such claims, and have stated that the company was unable to provide enough staffing for the location.

In late August 2022, workers at a Chipotle in Lansing, Michigan voted to unionize, becoming the fast food chain's first union in the United States. Workers at this location voted 11 to three, opting to unionize with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Unionization in the high tech sector

The relatively new high tech sector, typically dealing with the creation, design, development, and engineering of computer hardware and software products, has typically not been unionized as it is considered white-collar jobs, often with high pay rates and benefits. There has been worker activism to try to get the employer to change their practices related to labor, such as a November 2018 walkout at Google by 20,000 employees to make the company change its policy on sexual harassment. However, these efforts have traditionally stopped short of the need for unionization, and achieving the scale of employee involvement to bring a union to their workplace can be difficult due to the numerous benefits these employees may already have and the blue-collar nature that union association may bring.

One area where unionization efforts have become more intense is in the video game industry. Numerous publicized events since 2004 have revealed the excessive use of "crunch time" at some companies; where there is a reasonable expectation in the industry that employees may be needed to put in more time near the release of a game product, some companies were noted for using a "crunch time" approach through much longer periods or as a constant expectation of their employees; further, most of those employed in the video game market are exempt from overtime, compounding the issue. Major grassroots efforts through the game industry since 2018 have promoted the creation of a new union or working with an existing union to cover the industry. One of the first high tech companies to establish a union was Kickstarter, whose employees voted in favor of unionizing in February 2020.

On April 1, 2022, Amazon workers at the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island, New York City voted in favor of a union, becoming Amazon's first unionized workplace in the United States.