US Labor Unions Rise Amid Soaring Costs of Living and Falling Membership Rates; New Deals Reached in Hollywood and Auto Industry

Historic Strikes and Record Contract Deals Despite the Decades-Long Decline in Union Membership; Soaring Cost of Living and Tight Job Market Bolster Labor Activism Even in New Industries.

• U.S. labor unions have garnered nationwide attention recently with the actors union reaching a tentative deal with major studios to end a months-long strike, while last month, United Auto Workers celebrated victories on key demands after a six-week strike.
• Despite historic strikes and record contract deals, union membership rates in the U.S. have been falling for decades due to changes in the economy, employer opposition, growing political partisanship, and persistent legal challenges.
• Labor activism in the U.S. has surged along with the costs of living and rising inequality, especially the growing pay gap between workers and top executives, with hundreds of thousands of workers participating in strikes this year.
• The tight U.S. job market, with unemployment rates at near 50-year lows and about 1.5 open jobs for each unemployed person, is giving workers leverage to challenge their employers and secure better conditions and wages.
• The growth of sectors like technology and the gig economy, which have little history of union membership, coupled with large companies reclassifying employees as 'contractors', has contributed to the decline in union membership.

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