Tue, 01/19/2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the important role of unions in the American workplace, requiring them to function as worker safety advocates when employers put profits over people. As a result of this out-sized role in protecting workers from employer safety failures, union organization has increased in traditionally unionized sectors, and unions have gained a toehold in sectors that are not traditionally organized.
Throughout the pandemic, unions across America have worked to ensure the safety of their members. For instance, United Food and Chemical Workers Local 1776 bought face masks for each of its 35,000 members, and an additional 30,000 face shields. The Local also convinced a meatpacking plant near Philadelphia to close after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, potentially averting a significant outbreak among workers.
Unionization among workers in the health care industry has increased during the pandemic. According to NPR reporting, “[o]f the approximately 1,500 petitions for union representation posted on the National Labor Relations Board website in 2020, 16% appear related to the health care field, up from 14% the previous year.” The National Nurses United and the National Union of Healthcare Workers both reported increased numbers of calls from non-members, but do not yet know whether those calls will result in new union memberships. This comes as the pandemic hits the health care field hard, with approximately 3,000 health care workers lost to COVID-19.
Workers in the public sector have also shown interest in joining organized labor – in New York City, for example, the share of government employees who are union members increased to 70 percent. Budgetary pressures related to the pandemic threatened to result in layoffs of tens of thousands of City employees absent state or federal intervention (which would have reduced dues to the unions representing the laid off workers). However, AFSCME District Council 37, the City’s largest public employee union, struck a deal with the City to avert the layoffs.
For more information on your rights to join a union, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/unions.
