Yet American workers have not given up on unions. A National Opinion Research Corporation, we found interest in joining unions to be at a four-decade high.
The results show that 48 percent – nearly half of non-unionized workers – would join a union if given the opportunity to do so. The scale of this change indicates that 58 million American workers would want to join a union if they could, quadruple the number of current union members.
More than 50 percent of the workers who took part in our survey reported they have less say than they feel that they ought to have, what we call the “voice gap,” on key issues such as benefits, compensation, promotions and job security. Between a third and half of the workers we surveyed reported a gap between expected and actual say or influence on decisions about how and when they work, safety and benefits.
While workers are clear on what they want, the reality is few workers who don’t belong to unions will get to join one, since fewer than 1 percent will experience an organizing drive at their workplaces. Also, fewer than 10 percent of all these efforts to unionize and get a collective bargaining agreement succeed when employers resist.
Unions are turning to new strategies for improving working conditions. Perhaps the best example is union support for a US$15 minimum wage that would primarily benefit workers who aren’t their members. Several new organizing efforts are taking shape, benefiting everyone from South Florida tomato pickers to baristas toiling in a Starbucks near you.
The most important and direct thing Americans can do to improve their economic future, ORGANIZE!
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