This year, a rare burst of union momentum produced some major victories – along with some losses and significant fights with employers.
Starbucks and Amazon were far from alone facing major union drives. As unemployment remained low and wages grew, workers in education and healthcare, food service and retail continued the pandemic-era push for higher pay, better sick leave and other changes to their working conditions. But tangible results are hard to quantify — so far. 2023 may tell us a lot more about the durability and clout of the resurgent labor movement.
Here's some of what happened this year.
According to the National Labor Relations Board, there were 1,249 union elections in fiscal year 2022, a nearly 50% increase from the year before.
Workers voted in favor of unionizing in 72% of those elections, up from 61% in 2021.
A few factors help explain that rise. Public support for unions is at a 60-year high (more on that below). And Starbucks played an outsized role in driving up that number. Starbucks accounted for roughly a quarter of all union elections this year, and the union was victorious in four out of every five elections.
This year saw unions established at workplaces that had never or seldom seen labor organizing. Workers voted to unionize for the first time at Trader Joe's, Apple and Chipotle stores. The historic union victory at a massive Amazon warehouse on Staten Island is...
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