Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.
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.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
February 7
In today’s News and Commentary, the NLRB withdraws its objections to SpaceX’s constitutional challenge, Whole Foods asks the NLRB to set aside a union election in Philadelphia, and the AFL-CIO launches a campaign to push back against Musk. The NLRB filed a letter with the Fifth Circuit indicating it would not address SpaceX’s challenge to […]
February 6
Gwynne Wilcox files lawsuit challenging her removal from the NLRB, and unions file a lawsuit challenging DOJE's request to access Department of Labor information.
February 5
Trump's disagreements with Abruzzo & Wilcox, Dollar General's plan for ICE agents, remote work in federal CBA's.
February 4
In today's news and commentary King Soopers workers announce a strike, Congressman Biggs introduces a bill to abolish OSHA, the UAW announces willingness to support Trump's tariffs, and Yale New Haven Health System faces a wage and hour class action.
February 2
President Trump seeks to nullify recent collective bargaining agreements with federal workers; Trump fired the NLRB’s acting General Counsel; Costco and the Teamsters reach a tentative deal averting a strike; Black History Month began yesterday with the theme African Americans and Labor
January 31
In today’s news and commentary, AFGE and AFSCME sue Trump for an Executive Order stripping protections from government employees, Trump fires members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Amazon shutters operations in the entirety of Quebec in response to union successes. On Wednesday, two unions representing government employees–American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and […]