(truck honking)
- [Reporter] Across the country
from Kellogg cereal plants in Michigan
to coal mines in Alabama,
union workers are on strike.
- We have to do what we have to do.
This is our lives, this is our livelihood.
- [Reporter] They're demanding higher wages,
better benefits, and improved working conditions.
- [Leader] When do we want it?
- [Strikers] Now.
- Speaking to workers and labor leaders
in different sectors of the economy,
what I really heard
was that there's a lot of frustration among workers
and even distrust of their employers.
And so, you know, these folks
feel as though it was revealed to them during the pandemic
that their employers
aren't necessarily looking out for their best interests,
and that they need to advocate for themselves.
And this is what unions are really hoping to capitalize on.
- [Reporter] Meanwhile, many non-union workers
are looking to collective action
to improve their conditions.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began,
workers from across a wide range of industries
from trucking, to media, to museums,
to higher ed, to bookstores,
are working to
or have successfully unionized their workplaces.
(strikers chanting)
So, what's behind this new worker unrest?
Is it just a passing moment or is this shift likely to last?
Before the pandemic, labor unrest was on the rise.
In 2018 and 2019 work stoppages ticked upwards
with 20 and 25 respectively.
But pre-pandemic American labor
was not in a position of strength.
For decades now, private sector union membership numbers
have been in decline.
- Private sector workers were really beaten down
before the pandemic.
The unionization numbers were low
and they weren't really striking in great numbers,
and they weren't really winning
particularly strong contracts.
- [Reporter] The economic disruption
brought on by the coronavirus gave workers new leverage.
Data compiled by Cornell University
found that the number of workers on strike in 2021
increased steadily from the beginning of the year.
So far, these actions have produced mixed results.
- Workers at Deere just this week ratified
a new six year contract,
and this brings to an end a strike
that had been ongoing for over a month.
It involved more than 10,000 workers at Deere,
it was taking place at Deere
where there hadn't been such labor activity in 35 years.
And so this just really speaks to the...
I think the groundswell of frustration
that we're seeing among American workers,
and also the power that unions feel that they have
at this point in time.
- [Reporter] In a statement the UAW wrote,
"Our members' willingness to strike in order to attain
"a better standard of living
"in a more secure retirement,
"resulted in a groundbreaking contract
"and sets a new standard for workers."
In a statement to the "Wall Street Journal",
Dear Chief Executive, John May
said, "We're giving employees the opportunity
"to earn wages and benefits
"that are the best in our industries.
"We have faith that, in return, our employees
"will find new and better ways
"to improve our competitiveness."
- Unions build the middle-class.
You just put power in the hands of workers.
- [Reporter] Despite an endorsement from the president,
earlier this year
a drive to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Alabama failed
when workers overwhelmingly voted against collective action.
Two closely watched upcoming unionization drives
include one in an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island
and another at some Starbucks stores in Buffalo, New York.
- When employers are fighting unions,
they will bombard workers with text messages
or in-app messages.
They'll also, during working hours,
require the employees to listen to anti-union messages
about why they shouldn't unionize
where there's no law requiring equal time.
- [Reporter] Workers interested in creating a union,
form committees dedicated to advancing unionization.
Oftentimes, these committees lobby their colleagues
through personal advocacy,
but committees also get their message out
with pro-union literature, text messages, events,
and today, social media campaigns.
In November, the company's CEO, Howard Schultz,
traveled to Buffalo to make a personal appeal
to Starbucks employees.
- We're not a perfect company.
We're not perfect people.
I'm not a perfect person.
Mistakes are made,
we learn from them,
and we try and fix them.
- I think if the Starbucks workers in Buffalo
are able to win their union
in spite of the massive, massive anti-union onslaught
that they've received,
that will be a promising sign.
- [Reporter] In an open letter to employees on its website,
a Starbucks executive wrote,
"Our actions in Buffalo
"are not about whether we are pro-union or anti-union.
"It's quite simply that we are pro-Starbucks partners.
"As you know, our heritage and culture
"are built on the belief
"that by working directly together as partners,
"we can build a different kind of company."
On November 18th, Starbucks employees in Mesa, Arizona
said they would like to join a union.
So, is this wave of strikes a tipping point
for American labor?
And will we see this unrest continue to pick up momentum?
- It's too early to tell.
I think there are promising signs.
Right now employers have the ability to fight off unions,
whether organizing drives or strikes
with greater resources and more legal support.
So, it's very, very difficult
to organize or to win a strike.
- [Reporter] The current strike wave
is not large by historical standards,
especially when compared
with the hundreds that occurred annually
in the 1960s and 70s.
Critics of unions warn
that work stoppages and efforts to influence labor policy
could push up prices for consumers and slow production.
- We live in a different world than we did in 1950.
There are dozens and dozens of laws on the books
that protect employees.
There are Safety and Health Rules.
Back in the day,
when the only place a person had to go for protection
was a union contract or a union grievance procedure,
today, an employee can pick up the phone
and call the EEOC, or OSHA, or the NLRB.
- [Reporter] But those in favor of expanded unionization
would dispute that characterization.
- It's a typical anti-union talking point
to say that unions were good for a while
but we don't need them anymore.
But what we see across the country
is that workers that don't have
the protection of a union contract
can be fired at any time for almost any reason.
- [Reporter] This is true of employment at-will.
Often, contract state that workers can be fired
for good cause,
bad cause,
or no cause at all.
In recent years, some states like Michigan,
Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Kentucky
have passed right-to-work laws.
A right-to-work law gives workers the freedom to choose
whether or not to join a labor union in the workplace.
These laws also make it optional
for employees in unionized workplaces
to pay for union dues required for union representation,
whether they are in the union or not.
Opponents of right-to-work laws
say they allow non union members
to benefit from union representation
and union secured benefits
without sharing in the cost of negotiating those benefits.
They argue these non-due paying workers
ultimately lead to union membership decline.
Looking ahead, both Givan and Debruge,
said they would be paying close attention to what happens
with the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act.
Earlier this year, the House passed the legislation
which supporters say
would make it easier for workers to unionize.
Opponents of the law argued
that it would undermine workers' rights
and stifle business.
After the PRO Act was blocked in the Senate,
Democrats added some of its elements
to the Build Back Better Act
or the Budget Reconciliation Bill,
which they are currently trying to get through the Congress.
(gentle music)