After years of gradually declining, the United States’ labor movement has made a comeback. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve witnessed strikes, walkouts, union drives, boycotts and the Great Resignation. Our employers and government have made it clear they would rather profit off of us than let us survive, and people are fighting back. This includes workers at Amazon, Starbucks and Kelloggs, as well as educators, healthcare workers, taxi drivers and many more. They need our support, and we need to join them. That starts with giving them our attention.

Unions

Unions are one of the most crucial ways workers advocate for their rights. Because corporations hinder this process, we should support those in this struggle. Workers at Amazon, arguably one of the most powerful companies in the world, have recently unionized their first warehouse, which would not have happened without intense organizing and community support. Unions have garnered more and more support. Approval ratings have soared to 68% — the highest they’ve been since 1965. By dispelling fears created by corporations’ union busting efforts, we can further boost these approval ratings.

Companies love to paint unions as divisive. However, they are a beautiful source of community and connection, an experience not common in our generation. We, as the working class, need to hold our employers accountable and ensure our quality of life.

The Benefits

To properly combat union busting, we must understand what unions can truly do for us. If the benefits weren’t significant, our employers wouldn’t work so hard to cover them up. Employers depend on division among their employees and often incentivize us to work against each other.

Unions hold a long history of people working in solidarity towards better conditions. This includes weekends, sick leave, minimum wage, child labor laws, the eight-hour work day and wrongful termination laws. History has shown us that there’s power in numbers, and collective bargaining gives us leverage in the workplace.

Workers need this leverage, especially after employers have continued to abuse their workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsafe working conditions, low wages and being overworked have left many employees vulnerable. Unions provide workers the voice to change this. Legal representation gives employees ground to stand on when negotiating for better working conditions.

Additionally, unions help everyone — not just those who are a part of them. High rates of unionization create expectations for other workplaces and put pressure on employers to avoid losing workers. This can help us close gender and racial wage gaps, increase salaries, improve existing benefits and more.

Unions in Utah

If we want to grow the labor movement, we must especially promote local efforts. Utah is the third least unionized state in the country. The state also stands in the bottom third of states where women are protected by unions and is lower than the national average.

Utah’s lack of unions hurts all of us in the working class. Disabled people, Black, Indigenous and other people of color, queer and trans folks, women and gender diverse people benefit the most from unions. They are also some of the least represented groups in Utah. Considering Utah has created an environment that ranks worst in gender equality for the fourth year in a row, we must advocate for these groups in the workplace.

We may be seeing an increase in Utah unions as rent prices skyrocket, according to Veronica, a local barista who wishes to remain anonymous due to Starbucks’ fearmongering against its employees unionizing. Utah’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and though Starbucks baristas make a bit more, it still is not livable.

One location in Utah has recently spearheaded local Starbucks unionization efforts. The employees at 7025 S Highland Dr. announced their plan to unionize on Thursday, March 31, making it the first store in our state to do so. The impacts of their courage and resilience will no doubt help popularize unions in Utah. If you want to help them, Veronica said, “Make sure to spend money there, as opposed to other stores, because it supports the efforts and they [Starbucks] don’t have an excuse to cut labor like they did.”

Corporations have been profiting off our backs during this pandemic more than ever. When we pay attention, we can demand that our local representatives act in our best interest when creating labor-related policies. By paying attention to these unionizing efforts, we can tune in to how modern labor movements are being organized, how we can learn from mistakes of the past and how we can adapt to the times. Activism, like all things, evolves with people. As the next generation to inherit the working class struggle, we must stay on top of it.

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@angela_lezaic