After decades of decline in the United States, unions may be ready for a comeback.
Every month brings some more promising news for organized workers. employees in companies like john deere And Kellogg’s They have gone on strike to fight for wage hike and concessions. Starbucks workers have largely organized Coast to Coast 100 Stores since last fall. REI employees formed the first union of Outdoor Retailer. and Amazon employees broke down all barriers and Won 8,000-workers union election in New York City.
In the post-World War II period, about 1 in 10 American workers now belongs to a union, down from about 1 in 3. Yet the labor movement is showing more muscle now than it has been in years. Buoyed by two years of hard work through a tight labor market and a pandemic, workers are succeeding in organizing companies that have strongly opposed unionisation, and many of them are doing it practically on their own. .
HuffPost will collect some of them to explain how and why they did it.
On June 14, workers from Amazon, REI, and Starbucks unions will participate in a HuffPost panel discussion titled “A New Labor Movement,” moderated by Our Labor Reporter. Dave Jamieson, Activists will talk about the roots of their organizing campaigns, their relationships with their co-workers, and the strategies they employed to defeat the anti-union campaigns waged by their employers.
All these companies have strongly opposed the effort of their employees to organize in their own way. Starbucks stores are flooded with managers and accused of retaliating against union workers, Amazon has spent millions of dollars on this High-priced anti-union advisors, And it’s branded by REI progressive image In hopes of garnering union support. Organizers will share their stories of fighting powerful companies from the inside, often at great personal risk, and their thoughts on where the American labor movement is headed.
The event will take place on June 14 at 4:00 p.m. at the BuzzFeed offices in New York City. Speakers will include Chris Smalls, president of the Amazon Labor Union; Steve Buckley, REI activist and member of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; and Reese Mercado, Starbucks activist and member of Starbucks Workers United.
HuffPost will be livestreaming the event here and on our Facebook page. The audience in the room will be allowed to ask questions, but we’d also like to hear from those of you who can’t make it in person. If you have any questions you’d like to submit or receive reminders about the livestream, you can email [email protected].
And if you would like to join the program, please respond here. Space is limited and RSVPs will be approved on a first come, first served basis.
