The Hot Labor Summer: How Unions Served the American Airlines, UPS, and Automobile Industries in the Post-Truncation Era

“We have seen that there are examples where employers come to the table… sit down, bargain, and arrive at results,” acting Labor Secretary Julie Su told NPR in an interview. I think that’s continuing to inspire what people call a hot labor summer.

Unionized pilots at American Airlines scored pay gains of more than 40% under their new contract while UPS drivers achieved what the Teamsters union calls “the most lucrative agreement” in the delivery company’s history.

Unions also have a friendly administration in the White House right now. Vice President Kamala Harris expressed her support for organized labor last week saying unions “make our middle class and our entire economy more strong.”

And for the time being, unions are supported by the public. Autoworkers, for example, point to a Gallup poll showing 75% of people support the UAW in its contract talks with the big auto makers.

That’s the prevalent thinking at unions. Employers have had to find enough workers in a healthy jobs market as companies have racked up big profits.

There are big obstacles though. Many employers oppose unionization efforts and there are still uncertainties about the economy.

Now, organized labor has their backs to the wind. A tight job market has given workers increased bargaining power, polls show public support for unions is high, and the Biden administration is on their side.

For 19 months, the unemployment rate has been under 4%. Competition for workers is pushing up wages, especially for those at the bottom of the income ladder.

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates aggressively since last year in a bid to fight inflation and the impact of those higher borrowing costs are still filtering through to the broader economy.

Boosting Unions in Public Works Projects: A Case Study of Starbucks and Automakers in Detroit, Hollywood and the New Millenium

Take Starbucks. Unionizing efforts at the coffee chain first got underway two years ago. More than 300 stores have unionized since then, but no one has won a new contract yet.

And there are limits to how much help the White House can provide. The administration has taken steps to boost union participation in public works projects, for example. The PRO Act is the priority of unions, which would make it easier for private sector workers to organize and force companies to fight back.

The contract with the UAW is set to expire in mid-September. If the auto makers do not give in to the demands of the union, they will go on strike.

Detroit is seeing auto makers pouring billions to transition into electric vehicles, which requires less workers to assemble, while Hollywood is going through major shifts with the surging popularity of streaming services.

That creates uncertainty on both sides. Workers want a say in how these two industries should navigate those changes and anxious employers want to preserve their flexibility as much as they can.

The Los Angeles Theater Workers’ Strike During the September 2nd Universal Studios Closing Rei: An Empirical Report on Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta

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Hollywood was essentially halted by the dual strike by writers and actors. Future movies and tv shows are being delayed if not canceled, while the Emmy Awards have been moved from September to January. The strikers have lost work, and very nearly their health insurance, too. The economic impacts are far beyond the LA area.

The only organized group of strippers in the U.S. are the dancers at a topless dive bar in Los Angeles. It was the final step in a protracted 15-month battle with their employer, the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar.

Although it runs as a co-op, REI has not voluntarily recognized its newly unionized workers. Some think that the company broke labor laws by threatening and disciplining organizers, which it denies.

In a first, workers at the LA, New York and Atlanta studios have voted to unionize. They hope that by joining the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees they’ll get the same benefits and protections as other crew members.

A group of hotel workers in Los Angeles are striking for higher wages. That’s put some travelers in a bind, including during the weekend of July 4th and ahead of a political science conference — ironically — this Labor Day weekend.