Posts tagged journalism
Op-ed: Celebrating the Decline of Big Labor
September 2, 2025 // New York and California have 17 percent of U.S. workers, but almost 30 percent of U.S. union members. The states with the lowest rates include the Carolinas, which do not allow collective bargaining in the public sector. More states should look to abolish public-sector collective bargaining, as Utah did this year. And more states should pick up where Republicans left off in the early-to-mid 2010s by passing right-to-work laws. The first order of business should be restoring Michigan’s law that Democrats repealed. In 24 states, private-sector workers can still be coerced to join or financially support a union.
Op-Ed: Painting the Targets
September 24, 2024 // I next went looking for data about union density—the percentage of employees in an industry who are union members—in New York and California. For New York City, Hofstra University’s Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy put together this report showing industries that have seen declines in union membership. About half of the industries line up with those listed on the independent-contractor complaint form:
Going on strike: Why some unions have more leverage than others
February 25, 2024 //
Should Influencers Unionize?
May 5, 2023 // Speaker D: Although our reporting has found that union rates are at an all time low since records began, so the trend is not favorable for you. Speaker D: Public perception of unions is pretty high though, so people will be cheering them on if they do form one. Speaker B: I mean, that’s what’s funny is because one in four zoomers want to be influencers, they’re also one of the most progressive generations that have the most positive view of unions.
Former sports anchor, union official sentenced to probation for his role in corruption scandal
December 5, 2022 // Former KHNL sports anchor and union official Russell Yamanoha has been sentenced to two years of probation and was fined $5,000 for his role in a union corruption scandal. Yamanoha, the former assistant business manager for the IBEW Local 1260, was convicted in 2019 for helping rig union votes. Outside of court today, he apologized for the harms he caused. The union rigged the votes to increase membership dues to fund the lavish lifestyle of Yamanoha’s former boss Brian Ahakuelo. Critics said that given his news background, Yamanoha should have known better.
Assembly Bill 5 is still wreaking havoc in California and across the country
October 24, 2022 // If you needed proof that AB 5 was a flawed piece of legislation from the very beginning, consider the fact that while the rules for who AB 5 applies to are a mere 325 words, they’re followed by almost 7,000 words worth of carveouts. While a 2020 Proposition which rolled back AB 5 with respect to app-based drivers was recently declared unconstitutional, other exceptions put in place by the legislature remain. As a result, politically-connected professions, like lawyers, doctors, and accountants are exempted from AB 5’s onerous requirements. Independent truckers, however, are not among these lucky carve outs, and the state is beginning to feel the consequences. Throughout the United States, approximately 350,000 truck drivers make a living as independent owner-operators—they own their own vehicles and haul loads as contractors for carriers.
Union membership hits new low
January 24, 2022 // Those numbers have fallen steadily, if not uniformly, over the last two generations, even as the number of American workers has increased substantially. Today, there are about 50 million more workers in the American economy than there were in 1983, and 3 million fewer union members.