Union Membership Growth, Workers' Rights and More
- Sue Milne
- Jan 31
- 2 min read
January 29, 2025 | Oregon AFL-CIO“Oregon unions continue to grow despite opposition from employers and their hired union busters along with broken labor laws that don’t reflect the needs of a modern workforce,” said Graham Trainor, Oregon AFL-CIO President. “At the heart of any increase in membership are workers and the absolute courage and tenacity it takes to stand together and call for change on the job. For some, it’s the need for safer working conditions. For others, it’s about being compensated fairly. And for all, it’s about ensuring the dignity and respect at work that we all deserve regardless of who we are or where we work. From healthcare to behavioral health to retail to manufacturing, the Oregon Labor Movement is growing and each new member adds a new voice and new strength to our efforts to build a truly fair and just economy for all.”
January 29, 2025 | Common Dreams
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler warned in a statement Tuesday that Trump's firing of Wilcox—who, under federal law, cannot be fired on political grounds—"is illegal and will have immediate consequences for working people." "By leaving only two board members in their posts, the president has effectively shut down the National Labor Relations Board's operations, leaving the workers it defends on their own in the face of union-busting and retaliation," said Shuler. "Alongside the firing of NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, these moves will make it easier for bosses to violate the law and trample on workers' legal rights on the job and fundamental freedom to organize."
January 26, 2025 | Willamette Week
Graham Trainor, the Oregon AFL-CIO President says the bill would make labor negotiations more balanced. “Striking workers and their families should not be pushed into poverty for exercising their legally protected right to strike,” Trainor said. “This policy would help level the playing field for workers, put money back into the local economy by giving workers the ability to continue to feed their families during a strike, and will expedite negotiations with employers. When you ask workers why they go out on strike, they will tell you their hands are forced: workers strike because they have to—for economic, safety and community reasons—not because they want to.”
January 28, 2025 | Economic Policy Institute
Interest in union organizing is surging in the United States. Since 2021, petitions for union elections at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have more than doubled. And public support for unions is near 60-year highs—at 70%. This growing momentum around union organizing—aided by the Biden administration’s support for worker organizing and appointment of strong worker advocates in critical agencies like NLRB—signals a powerful push by workers to improve wages, working conditions, and workplace rights. But despite this groundswell of support, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal a puzzling trend: Unionization rates continue to decline.
