The article discusses the post-Covid surge in labor organizing but questions the optimism surrounding this movement due to declining union density, now at a record low of 9.9%. Despite high public support for unions and increased victories in National Labor Relations Board elections, the overall number of organized workers fails to keep pace with labor market growth or losses from plant closures. The author points out that although there is excitement about unionization, it is important to note the changing demographic of union members and the implications of these shifts for labor's future.
Despite renewed interest in unionization and high public approval of unions, union density continues its inexorable decline, reaching a record low of 9.9 percent in 2024.
Over the course of the most pro-union presidency in my lifetime, not only did union density not rise-it declined into single digits.
If the percentage of people in unions shrinks, something clearly is not working. But that's not the only reason we should question the idea that labor just needs to keep doing what it's been doing.
There’s also been a notable shift in who is joining unions, and where they're joining.
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