How unions put more money in the hands of Black folks

By Bria Overs, Word In Black Before “Hot Strike Summer,” there was the “Union Boom.” Workers at Amazon, Trader Joe’s, REI, Starbucks and other corporations banded with their fellow workers to improve working conditions. This drive, led by the workers, is shaking up workplaces and industries nationwide — a welcomed reversal to the decades-long decline of unionization rates for advocates of worker’s rights. Union membership rates peaked at 35 percent in the 1950s, a report from the U.S. Department of Treasury found, and have steadily declined since the 1970s.& And membership is still declining, with a recent dip from 10.3 percent in 2021 to 10.1 percent in 2022. Along with it, the number of workers represented by unions dipped from 11.6 percent to 11.3 percent at the same time, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Unionization is most common among public-sector workers, protective service occupations, education, training, library occupations, and transportation and utilities industries. And Black folks have higher rates of unionization or union membership than any other racial and ethnic group. That’s not without cause or history. Unions provide better working conditions with higher wages, good benefits and less discriminatory retaliation from employers.& But those who oppose unions, like...