Unions and Worker Power

In 2022, more than 850,000 people in the United States worked as security guards. This post provides a quick overview of the challenges facing this particular part of the workforce — challenges that face almost all low- and middle-wage workers — and explores the particular ways security guards experience these issues.

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual estimates of the labor force characteristics of the disabled population in the United States.

Despite signs of a labor movement resurgence throughout 2023, union density continued to hover at a historic low.

In its monthly job reports, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) disaggregates certain labor force indicators by disability status.

Earlier this year, a wave of high-profile strikes ushered unions back into the national spotlight. But as the United States’ so-called “hot labor summer” gives way to an equally enthusiastic fall, we must contend with the reality that while union activity is higher than it’s been in years, union density remains dismally low. The share of employees who belong to unions has been falling for decades and reached an all-time low of 10.1 percent in 2022. The share in the private sector was even lower

The pay penalty for teachers — the gap between the weekly wages of teachers and other college graduates — grew to a record 26.4% in 2022, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The US is in the throes of a major resurgence of union drives and strike activity, and the “hot labor summer” seems poised to become a vibrant labor autumn.

Workers will have much to celebrate this Labor Day weekend following several recent pro-labor victories led by the Biden administration and Democratic appointees across the federal government. Coming on the heels of what many have deemed a “hot labor summer” with high union favorability ratings and high-profile union activism, these developments are promising steps toward a more level playing field where workers can freely organize.

The 2024 election could determine how much we can fix problems, or whether we move backward toward increasing inequality of income, wealth, and access to education.