Posts tagged job security
Declining union membership could be making working-class Americans less happy and more susceptible to drug overdoses
November 6, 2025 // We are continuing to research the connections between union membership and public health. The next question we are working on is whether a decline in union membership can have a multigenerational impact, going beyond the workers employed today and affecting the lives of their children and grandchildren.
America Doesn’t Have Enough Weapons for a Major Conflict. These Workers Know Why.
October 28, 2025 // Historically, in the fight against their bosses, unions have had only one real weapon to wield: their numbers. The primary goal of a labor strike is to blockade production and inflict pain on the company so that it will negotiate better terms. But in Orlando, it was hard for the union to enlist enough workers for the fight. Florida is a “right to work” state, meaning that union membership is optional. Workers in an organized factory are free to return to their stations and get back to work, leaving everyone else on the picket line to fight for a contract that would eventually apply to everyone.
White Collar Workers Are Considering Unionizing as Their Jobs Are Threatened
October 23, 2025 // The scenario was recently explored in a Washington Post article titled “The future of white-collar work may be unionized,” which noted “(l)aw firms, banks and tech companies are seeing an uptick in employees choosing to organize.” Interestingly, the paper didn’t mention that its own tech workers overwhelmingly voted to form a union earlier this year, despite management efforts to prevent them. Post owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has for years battled to stop the online marketplace’s employees from doing the same. In any case, it was probably no coincidence that the Post’s IT workers led the push to organize. Employees at Alphabet, Microsoft, Kickstarter, and other tech companies began organizing as far back as 2020 to gain better leverage against what they considered heavy-handed management decisions.
UPDATE: Union submits counteroffer after Volkswagen makes final contract public
October 21, 2025 // The contract includes a 20% wage increase over four years, a $4,000 ratification bonus, the company’s first-ever cost-of-living allowance and lower health care costs. If approved before Oct. 31, employees would receive an additional $1,500. Employees could make nearly $80,000 each year, before overtime and benefits, according to a contract fact book released by Volkswagen. Withdrawn portions of the contract include random drug testing and a tentative agreement about onsite childcare, after disagreements on a weekly subsidy amount.
The future of white-collar work may be unionized
October 10, 2025 // “The way layoffs happened at Google, where it wasn’t clear what the reason for people getting laid off was, definitely created a sense of job insecurity and mistrust,” says Parul Koul, a software engineer at Google and president of the Alphabet Workers Union. Another driver has been artificial intelligence threatening to replace entry-level knowledge work. Few white-collar industries epitomize the challenge of integrating AI into workflows more than the practice of law. While many legal experts say AI will have a transformative impact by automating repetitive research tasks, some also fear it will dilute entry-level associate roles at law firms.
Trump administration moving to end federal prison workers’ union protections
October 1, 2025 // Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director William K. Marshall III wrote a letter to nearly 35,000 employees outlining plans to dismantle their contract negotiated by the Council of Prison Locals (CPL) labor union. “The current contract has too often slowed or prevented changes that would have made your jobs safer and your workdays better,” Marshall said in the memo to workers. “This is not about questioning the value of representation; it’s about ensuring representation moves us forward, not holds us back.”
LMU faculty union calls strike vote after university says it has ‘religious exemption’ from organized labor
September 29, 2025 // Untenured faculty at Loyola Marymount University launched an unfair labor practice strike authorization vote this week following the school’s announcement that it will no longer recognize or bargain with the faculty union for a first contract. The union had been negotiating for a contract with LMU’s administration for about 10 months. Then, in mid-September, campus leaders announced that LMU is invoking a religious exemption from the National Labor Relations Board’s jurisdiction. The board oversees unionization efforts and protects the rights of private sector employees
VW’s 20% Raise And Bonus Offer Could Make or Break US Union Deal
September 23, 2025 // That’s clear today as Volkswagen recently took the unusual step of publicly addressing their “final contract offer to the UAW.” In a brief statement, the company said negotiations have been going on for nearly a year and their latest offer will be their last.
St. Louis unions rally alongside striking Boeing workers
September 19, 2025 // On Friday morning, the union is set to vote on a contract proposed by its own negotiating committee. It includes an updated 401(k) plan, higher wage increases for employees at the top of the pay scale and a $10,000 signing bonus, up from the $4,000 bonus in the previous contract. If union members approve the contract, it will be submitted to Boeing as a pre-approved agreement. If Boeing declines the proposal, the union said it will continue to strike and be ready to return to the negotiation table with the company.
UAW workers reach tentative deal with GE Aerospace at Ohio, Kentucky plants
September 15, 2025 // The tentative agreement covers a five-year term and secures strong job security protections for both Erlanger and Evendale locations, including minimum headcount and new work, the statement said. On Friday, the UAW said in an X post that members will vote on ratification on September 19. Until then, all picket lines will continue.