Unions Taking Action for Members Across America

With Hollywood’s screenwriters and actors on strike together for the first time since 1960, shutting down the production of nearly all major movie and television projects, organized labor is once again a topic of conversation for many Americans.

While the Writers and Actors Guilds make up a small slice of unionized workers in America, there are over 14 million union members in the United States, representing more than 10% of all wage and salary workers.

That percentage may seem small, however many labor unions remain effective advocates for their members, as labor actions taken or threatened in the last three years demonstrate.

In late 2021, over10,000 John Deere workers went on strike for 20 days, demanding higher wages, better benefits, and more job security.

The strike ended with an agreement for wage increases of up to 10%, improved healthcare benefits, and a new contract clause that would allow workers to have more input on production decisions.

In early 2023, 40,000 Kroger workers went on strike in 8 states, demanding higher wages, better healthcare benefits, and more respect from management.

The strike also ended with a tentative agreement for wage increases of up to 5%, improved healthcare benefits, and a new contract clause that would allow workers to have more input on scheduling decisions.

A mixed bag is the recent contract first negotiated with the 12 different railroad workers unions, then imposed by the United States Congress when the 120,000 freight railroad workers would not ratify the deal.

In September 2022, Congress passed legislation to impose a new contract to avert a potential strike, which would have disrupted the movement of goods across the country.

The new contract includes a 24% wage increase over five years, as well as an additional personal day off and other benefits.

The unions were also disappointed that the new contract did not include paid sick leave, which they had been seeking. However, they said that the new contract was a good first step and that they would continue to fight for paid sick leave in future negotiations.

A major labor action almost happened between UPS and the Teamsters this summer.

The Teamsters, which represents over 340,000 UPS workers, threatened to strike if a new contract could not be negotiated with the company. The two sides were deadlocked on several key issues, including wages, benefits, and working conditions.

The Teamsters were able to force UPS back to the bargaining table and secure a significant contract victory for their members.  On August 2, 2023, the Teamsters and UPS announced that they had reached an agreement that averted a strike.

The agreement includes wage increases of up to 10% over four years, improved healthcare benefits, and new language that would allow workers to have more input on scheduling decisions.

The agreement also includes provisions for creating 7,500 full-time jobs and filling 22,500 open positions, allowing more part-timer workers to transition to full-time.

With many American workers, those who are union members and those are who are not, feeling financial pressures due their wages not keeping pace with historic inflation, it would not be surprising if additional labor actions and threats of such actions continued to occur.

Brian Floyd is an author, historian, and political strategist who frequently contributes commentary to the Blade.