Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to find many experienced organizers among the recent successful campaigns.
Inspired by pro-union sentiment in political movements, such as Bernie Sanders’ presidential bids, Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Socialists of America, individuals are spearheading the efforts for workplace reform rather than professional union organizers.
For the most part, it is bottom-up unionizing, rather than being driven by official, seasoned union representatives. But that difference apart, the dynamics at play are remarkably similar: The campaigns are being led by determined young workers. Workers at Amazon and Trader Joe’s are setting up independent unions, whereas at Starbucks and Chipotle, employees are teaming up with established unions. A different kind of organizingĪs a scholar of the labor movement who has observed union drives for two decades, what I find almost as striking as the victories is the unconventional nature of the organizing campaigns. Something is definitely happening in the labor movement in 2022. It comes as polling shows that public support of unions is at its highest since 1965, with the backing of 71% of Americans. Likewise, the success of an independent Amazon Labor Union – formed in 2020 by Chris Smalls, an Amazon worker fired for protesting what he saw as inadequate COVID-19 safety precautions – in forming the first plant of the retail giant to have a unionized workforce has inspired others to do likewise. Since baristas in Buffalo, New York, became the first at the chain to unionize in December 2021, colleagues at a further 234 outlets have followed suit in recent months. The growth of unionized stores at Starbucks in particular has been stunning. It comes on the back of a wave of successful efforts to mobilize at Starbucks and Amazon. Meanwhile, restaurant chain Chipotle saw the first of its stores unionize, following a vote by workers at an outlet in Lansing, Michigan.
Employees at Trader Joe’s locations in Massachusetts and Minneapolis both voted to unionize. The summer has seen a steady stream of workforce mobilizations. Labor Day 2022 comes smack bang in the middle of what is increasingly looking like a pivotal year in the history of American unions.
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