4 Reasons Why Retail Workers Want to Unionize
The organized labour movement fell off for a while but now it’s back in full force. Only 4.6% of retail workers in the United States are unionized but employees across the country are determined to see that number rise. Recently, for the first time in Amazon’s history a successful unionization effort has prevailed. The newly formed Amazon Labour Union presides over a warehouse in Staten Island and is focused on improving poor working conditions. Successful unionization attempts have also taken place recently at Starbucks, REI and even Apple employees are attempting to unionize. If it feels like a watershed moment it is.
If you are curious about why this movement is taking place now then consider these four factors that are causing retail employees to unionize.
1. Working conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic is a wakeup call for retail employees. They are called frontline workers for a reason. They have faced an overwhelming number of challenges since the pandemic hit including working in environments with insufficient health and safety standards whether that’s a lack of social distancing or a lack of personal protective equipment. Many retail workers have caught COVID-19 or have lost co-workers because of it. Then there is dealing with unruly customers who do not want to wear masks. Needless to say, this is not the job they signed up for.
"When individuals go through life-changing events, they often change their lives. We've had an entire society go through a life-changing event, and I think that's why we're seeing this [unionization effort] en masse," said Sylvia Allegretto, a labor economist at the University of California, Berkeley's. "Just looking at the last decade where the country has gone through quite a few shocks, the world's gone through shocks, and these corporations have not born the brunt of these shocks — but workers have." "COVID was absolutely the spark that lit the match."
2. Pay. While the pandemic has tested all retail organizations many retailers are better off more than two years into the pandemic. Amazon’s revenues have grown by a whopping $189 billion since 2019 and Target’s revenues are up by $28 billion since the pandemic started. Apple, for example, made $132 billion through its website and retail stores last year. These impressive sales statistics are not lost on retail workers. With housing costs, healthcare to pay for, and day to day living expenses retail employees find it difficult to make ends meet.
With this in mind it should not be too surprising that more workers are planning to organize. At Apple which does not have a unionized workforce retail workers are gathering under the radar to prepare a unionization attempt. Retail workers at Apple bring in between $17 - $30 per hour. While that pay is more generous than what many other retail employers offer many employees do not believe it makes up for inflation or is representative of the outsized revenue the retail giant generates. Aware that an underground push for unionization is underway along with the ongoing labour shortage Apple recently announced pay increases for some of its retail staff.
“In America, we have dramatic inequality in income and wages and wealth. ... I think young people are sick and tired of it, and they’re taking it into their own hands,” said Catherine Creighton, director of industrial and labor relations at Cornell University. Starbucks workers are also unhappy with their wages and benefits prompting more employees to organize. Since the union push began at Starbucks last year Starbucks has agreed to give its baristas two pay raises this year.
Many people see unionization as a way to increase their wages. On average union workers make more than non-union workers. In 2019 weekly pay for unionized workers on average, was $50 higher than that of non-unionized workers. Note: data was not available for 2020 as the onset of the pandemic would have skewed the results.
Source: Reuters
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3. Having a voice. Many employees especially younger ones want their voices heard and their opinions to matter. They see being a part of a union as a way to achieve this goal. It’s not just about pay or working conditions it’s also about equality for all in pay and career opportunities. “This is a generational uprising. I think young people are rediscovering unions as the way to have a voice into the job and lift up their wages and benefits,” said Richard Bensinger, a union organizer with Starbucks Workers United.
Although retail workers are on the front lines they aren’t always treated with respect. “It’s very much, ‘get a body in there and get them to produce as much as they can produce in whatever time period they’re able to give you.’ And then whatever happens to them doesn’t really matter. It’s been very disappointing to see this change,” said Michelle Eisen a Starbucks barista. A union can be a way to shift the power dynamic in favour of the employees.
4. There is momentum. Many people see the unionization of Starbucks’ first store in December as a tipping point that will pave the way for more successful unionization attempts across the retail industry. The Starbucks location in question is located in Buffalo New York and is the first one out of 9,000 corporate owned Starbucks stores in the United States to unionize. Since then more than 80 Starbucks stores have filed to be unionized.
Unions are more popular than ever in the United States with 68% of people surveyed in the United States approving of unions. That is the highest rating since 1965. The approval rate of unions is even higher among younger constituents with 77% of people between the ages of 18-34 approving of unions. “If you do a poll and ask workers, 'do you want the protection of wages and benefits and pensions that come with a union contract,' the majority will say yes," said Jim Stanford, a former economist and director of policy with Unifor, the largest private sector union in Canada.
The movement to unionize is also boosted by a few additional factors. One of them is social media. Social media makes it easier to vocalize and spread discontent among workers making retail employees realize they may not be getting their fair share. Another factor is a competitive labour market plagued by shortages which means retail employees have more power and they know it.
This sentiment was echoed by Chris Smalls who spearheaded the successful unionization of Amazon’s warehouse in Staten Island: “so we, as workers, the working class, we got to realize our value,” said Smalls. “If we don't go to work, these CEOs don't make their money. So if workers can realize that no matter where you work in this country, what you're doing, then you will realize that you can form something that can collectively bargain. That's what I think we witnessed on April 1st — we were able to share this experience with the world and let everybody know that any ordinary person can take down the most powerful company or retailer, or whatever, no matter how big or small.”