United States: American unionism undergoing radical transformation

More union members in services. “Unions fought and objected as much as they could” explained Gibb Surette, legal delegate for the powerful United Auto Workers (UAW), adding that “many sectors cracked.” Focused on manufacturing, unions nevertheless managed to get a foothold in services (computing, NICT, teaching, civil service…). At the heart of the Silicon Valley, California, the number of union members in the high tech sector now reaches 40% (as opposed to 12% for the national average). The Change to Win (CtoW) union, created in 2005 after a schism within the powerful AFL-CIO, and which includes the services’ union, decided to give priority to precarious and low-paid employees in the services sector. The objective is now achieved and unionization rate is going to. 36% of employees are union members in services as opposed to 7.6% in the rest of the private sector. For the first time in a long time, union membership in the US is slightly increasing, reaching 12.4% in 2008 against 12.1% in 2007, i.e. 428,000 more members in 2008 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS), for a national total of 16.1 union members. According to the BLS, the new members are mostly government employees.
Enjoy this article for free while you’re in your trial period
You have access to our content for 1 month.

union, decided to give priority to precarious and low-paid employees in the services sector. The objective is now achieved and unionization rate is going to. 36% of employees are union members in services as opposed to 7.6% in the rest of the private sector. For the first time in a long time, union membership in the US is slightly increasing, reaching 12.4% in 2008 against 12.1% in 2007, i.e. 428,000 more members in 2008 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS), for a national total of 16.1 union mem

Do you have information to share with us?
What you absolutely must read this week
The essential content of the week selected by the editorial team.
See all
United-Kingdom: Day-one rights for unpaid paternity leave
From 6 April 2026, fathers and partners will no longer need to demonstrate six months of service to qualify for paternity leave. This entitlement becomes a day-one right within the company...
30 March 2026
France: CMA-CGM seeks to adapt professional equality to seafaring roles
The news. On 23 March 2026, the shipowner CMA-CGM (17,600 employees in France) and the CFDT, CFE-CGC, and FO unions signed a gender equality agreement for the 2026-2030 period, as identified by...
Germany: crisis and transformation wage agreement in the chemical sector
Following a two-day marathon negotiation in Bad Breisig (Western Germany), the social partners of the German chemical and pharmaceutical industries—the IG BCE trade union and the BAVC employers'...
27 March 2026
Malta: a draft amendment to better protect against workplace harassment
The news. On 23 February 2026, the Maltese government introduced a draft amendment to the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, seeking to expand the scope of protection against workplace...
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Netherlands: new government seeks to “control” social costs
In his government policy statement to Parliament on 25 February, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced several measures designed to "control" social costs. Notably, he proposed raising the...
2
Germany: launch of the “WE-Fair” alliance for binational training of skilled foreign workers
Germany continues to expand and diversify its initiatives to attract skilled foreign labour from outside the EU. In mid-March 2026, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development...
3
Spain: a bill to regulate internships
On 3 March, the Council of Ministers approved the bill on the “Status for persons undergoing non-professional practical training in companies”. The text limits the number of interns a company can...
4
EU: co-legislators aim to pivot European Globalisation Adjustment Fund towards restructuring anticipation
On 25 February, the Council of the EU and the Parliament reached an agreement on the Commission’s proposed regulation to expand the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). Under the...
5
Block to slash workforce by nearly half
The news. In his latest shareholder letter, Jack Dorsey, CEO of payment service provider Block (formerly Square), announced plans to slash the company’s workforce “by nearly half, from...