Labor Day is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.

In recent years, in its quest to protect the dignity of work, the American labor movement has experienced what some are calling “the Great Reset,” with millions of workers frustrated that their wages have failed to keep up with inflation while corporate profits and CEO pay have climbed to record levels.

These workers, and the unions that represent them, have successfully reset their expectations and increased their contract demands compared to recent years.

But as we celebrate Labor Day and the remarkable strides that unions have made for American workers amid record high approval for unions, recent impressive victories both in organizing in the workplace and in bargaining better contracts at the table, we must acknowledge and examine the disheartening fact that the percentage of workers belonging to unions declined once again in 2023 with 10% of the nation’s workers belonging to unions, including 8% of Nebraskans.

Two reasons stand out as to a shrinking unionization rate.

First, U.S. corporations, including Starbucks, Amazon, and Walmart, fight harder to crush unions than corporations in any other industrial country. According to the Economic Policy Institute, employers spend more than $400 million annually on union avoidance consultants to bolster their union-busting efforts.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed 128 complaints against Starbucks alleging more than 1,000 illegalities, from firing dozens of pro-union workers to closing stores in retaliation for unionizing. Such corporate actions make unionizing incredibly difficult and make some workers too frightened to even try.

Second, weak American labor laws make unionizing difficult. Although federal law makes it illegal for employers to retaliate against workers for supporting a union, many corporations ignore and violate the law with impunity because they cannot be fined one cent for illegally firing workers who lead a union drive.

In addition, we have seen companies such as Starbucks and Trader Joe’s fail to bargain in good faith after employees have organized a union in those workplaces. Companies are slow to negotiate with the unions, and they know that the NLRB is powerless to require companies to reach a first contract with unions. This results in workers getting demoralized, thus discouraging workers from unionizing. Indeed, union busting is disgusting.

Such challenging headwinds are not new in organizing workers to join a union. The question then becomes, what can unions and their leaders do to get more workers involved to increase union density and grow union power?

The obvious answer is to elect candidates for federal office who support legislation that would restore the rights of workers to freely and fairly form a union and bargain collectively for changes in the workplace without fear of retribution from their employer.

However, short of that, to become an effective ambassador for the union movement, when articulating why wage earners benefit from unions, it is important to understand what unions stand for and what unions oppose.

Unions oppose selfishness, prejudice, greed, inequality, exploitation, and cruelty. Conversely, unions support economic and social justice, democracy in the workplace, safety and security on the job, binding contracts and due process, and solidarity, all of which are the foundation to help build union power.

A union’s power lies in the number of informed and involved members who are organized and willing to engage in public and private shows of solidarity around these best practice union values.

As such, union power is essential to workers being viewed as an equal partner, and not a junior partner, by employers.

This sentiment is best expressed by a giant in the labor and civil rights movement from the 20th century.

A. Philip Randolph, President Emeritus of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and the first African American Vice President of the AFL-CIO, said, “At the banquet table of nature, there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you can’t take anything, you won’t get anything, and if you can’t hold anything, you won’t keep anything. And you can’t take anything without organization.”

By Jim Begley, the director of the William Brennan Institute for Labor Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a member of the American Association of University Professors. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska.

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