How can we get more young members involved in the union?
I could have retired a lot sooner than I did if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that lament from a graying labor leader in my neck of the western Kentucky woods.
On the heels of today’s groundbreaking young worker and diversity conference , delegates to the AFL-CIO 2013 Convention reaffirmed the federation’s commitment to grow an inclusive labor movement dedicated to issues that will build strength for and share prosperity with women, young workers, people of color and LGBT workers.
Rebecca Band, California Labor Federation | Organizing/Bargaining
You’ve probably heard it from a colleague, or maybe from a friend or family member:
“Kids these days… they’re just too ambivalent to care about labor unions or workers' rights.”
But as it turns out, that’s just not true. Young people are actually big fans of unions. Fully 61% of young people view labor unions favorably – and that’s more than 10 points higher than the national average, according to a new Pew poll .
This past July 4th our nation celebrated its independence as many working families gathered to watch parades and fireworks that celebrate a country predicated on endless opportunity. For centuries, people have flocked to America, where we dream that no matter the circumstances of birth, anyone can work hard and achieve a better life.
In The Young Population and Workforce , the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees reports that the face of young workers is rapidly changing and concludes that unions and young people can be strong allies in the struggle for workplace rights, immigration reform, student loan reform and other key issues that face the United States. The report notes that young people, defined as 18-35, while being a growing part of the workforce, face significant challenges in finding good jobs or, to be blunt, finding jobs at all.
Last week, the Social Security Trust Fund report was released. One of its more telling charts was of the trend in Social Security revenue. Social Security revenue comes from a tax on the wages of earners, paid by both employees and employers. So, essentially it tracks the level of employment. Based on the simple trend of revenues from 1990 to 2007, just before the Great Recession started, 2012 revenue would have been $899.4 billion; instead, it was $840 billion. That gap means less money to build up the Social Security Trust Fund than expected. The trustees do not break down the revenue by the age of workers, but based on the dramatically lower employment experience of young workers, the bulk of that gap reflects the lost wages of young people.
A stunning 73.4 million young workers are estimated to be jobless in 2013, an increase of 3.5 million between 2007 and 2013, according to an International Labor Organization (ILO) report released Wednesday . Even worse, the number of unemployed young workers is likely to increase through 2018, with the long-term impact felt for decades, the report forecasts.
This video of a Transport Workers ( TWU ) young workers march in New York City is just the latest example of young workers coming together and standing up for their rights and talking about issues that affect them and other working families. Young workers face different issues than older workers but still share many of the same concerns.
Workers under the age of 34 face higher unemployment rates than older workers and make up nearly half of the currently unemployed . As student debt continues to build up —exceeding even credit card debt—and wages stagnate or fall for workers with or without a college degree, young workers are accruing less wealth than their parents —perhaps the first time in U.S. history when a generation has failed to do better than its parents. Young workers struggle to find work and often take jobs that are below their education and skill level or bounce from contract to unpaid internship to temp job without the stability of a full-time regular job but with all the long hours and hard work.
As we approach International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, it's hard not to wonder about the future of the labor movement, and whether or not young people in the United States will wake up and see that joining labor unions could be a part of the solution to the nation's 22.9% youth unemployment rate .
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