Unions face another year of eroding membership as the war on workers continues

The share of U.S. workers represented by a union ticked down slightly from 2018 to 2019, dropping from 11.7% to 11.6%; the share of U.S. workers who are union members also dropped from 10.5% to 10.3%. The overall number of workers represented by a union stayed about the same, growing by 3,000. (Interestingly, unions grew by 47,000 members in Missouri, hitting a 15-year high.)

While the picture for unions remains dim, after decades of decline, it’s worth noting that the Supreme Court’s anti-union Janus decision hasn’t—so far, anyway—dealt public-sector unions the intended death blow. “The meaningful decline in the union membership rate among local government workers (from 40.3% to 39.4%) might suggest Janus is having its intended effect. However, there was not a similar decline among state government workers,” the Economic Policy Institute reports. But “The share of state government workers who are members of unions rose substantially between 2018 and 2019, from 28.6% to 29.4%.”

● Barstool Sports settles with labor board over anti-union tweets.

● DoorDash drivers make an average of $1.45 an hour, analysis finds.

● Retail chain Lids has settled with managers for $1.2 million in unpaid overtime.

● Workers went on strike for fair wages at a New Jersey Ikea.

● American Family Insurance is raising its minimum wage from $15 to $20—giving 1,700 workers a raise. And $5 an hour is a serious raise!

● New Jersey could make overtime pay—by creating a stronger overtime rule than the Trump administration’s rollback of the Obama policy. New York, California, and Washington have already done so.

● Paraeducators join the national uprising of school employees. Basically, read everything Barbara Madeloni writes, please. Check her out at Labor Notes.

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🚨BREAKING🚨New Jersey is now the first state in the country with a Guaranteed Severance Pay Bill. This is a HUGE victory for working people. We can dream big and win in every state across the country if we put people over profit. #StopWallStreetLooting pic.twitter.com/aYCCrOu86p

— United for Respect (@forrespect) January 21, 2020

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