In today’s News and Commentary, U.S. union membership drops to a record low, despite growing interest in unionization, and seven former Starbucks employees were arrested outside a Starbucks store in New York.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) annual report, only 9.9% of workers, or 14 million total workers, were represented by unions in 2024. Among private sector employees, union density is even lower, reaching only 5.9% in 2024. These numbers represent a record low since their peak in 1983. Despite low union membership, however, research shows that interest in joining a union is on the rise. Petitions for union elections at the National Labor Relations Board have doubled since 2021, and 60 million workers say they would join a union if they could. Commentators suggest that the discrepancy between union membership and union interest is due to strong opposition from employers and weak labor protections. The BLS’s yearly report also highlights that Black workers continue to have the highest unionization rates at 13.2% and that the unionization rate for women has increased in 2024.  

Seven union workers were arrested at a peaceful sit-in outside a Starbucks store in Park Slope, New York. Starbucks announced plans to close this unionized store just months after its workers formed a union. The store was set to close later this week. The arrested workers claim that Starbucks has refused to bargain with them or to provide any raise in their first contract.