New site called POPULAR INFORMATION has this interesting article
http://popular.info or on Twitter Twitter @juddlegum.
Manufacturing the decline of unions
In 2017, 10.7% of the American workforce was unionized. That’s down from 20.1% in 1983. In the 1950s, “roughly one-third of American workers were union members.”
Some of this decline is due to right to work laws. But even states without right to work laws have seen unionization rates drop. In Missouri, just 8.7% of workers are unionized, down from 13% in 2003.
A big factor behind the drop nationwide is the decline of manufacturing work, which is more heavily unionized. As factories shut down, the unions are shut down too.
Life after Janus
A stronghold for unions remains the public sector workforce, where 34.4% of workers are unionized. But a Supreme Court decision this year, Janus, allows all public employees the right not to pay union dues as if they were covered by right to work laws.
Janus was a significant blow to the labor movement. The vote in Missouri last night shows there is still the ability to fight back. Don’t be surprised to see similar initiatives on the ballot in other states in the years to come.
Quotable: MLK Jr. on “right to work” laws
