Showing posts with label union membership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label union membership. Show all posts

February 19, 2026

A little good news...really

 


(This exploited dog has had enough.)

If, like me, you're looking for good news anywhere you can find it, here's a bit: for the first time in many years, union membership grew in 2025. And yes, this happened in spite of the Trump administration's war on federal workers. Numbers were up by almost half a million (463,000 to be exact). The number of workers covered by a union contract grew from around 16 million to 16.5. Much of that gain is in the public sector, but there were gains in the private one as well.

That's still not enough. We desperately need changes in federal labor laws to make organizing easier and make it harder for employers to retaliate. And we need to roll back state anti-labor legislation, restoring prevailing wages for state and local projects, sending "right-to-work-for-less' laws back to their rightful place in hell, and rolling back legislation that defunds public education.  Such policies are deliberately designed to reduce the bargaining power of workers and prevent organizing.

Still, it's a start. In the meantime, audacity and creativity by worker-organizers can prepare the way.


August 05, 2011

Parthian shots

As we head into another hot weekend, here are a few items that caught my eye...

OH GOOD. At the rate we're going, US wage levels will soon be competitive with those of China.

DEALING WITH THE WRONG CRISIS. Paul Krugman, America's Cassandra, nails it again.

DECLINING UNION MEMBERSHIPS, INCREASING INEQUALITY. Here's an academic paper about the connection between the two.

Stay cool.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED