2022 could be the year of the strike

Going into spring 2022, the continued devastation of COVID-19 and the physical, emotional, and societal tolls it has caused are only part of the dilemma facing society, employers, and employees. The economy, inflation, the politicization of vaccines and masks, high vacancy rates, a mobile workforce emerging from two years of isolation, and the severe trauma experienced by millions of healthcare workers contribute toward a challenging and unstable situation for employers.

Emerging (we hope) from the pandemic, unions are making up for lost ground: extending their organizing drives into previously impermeable territories (witness Amazon, Starbucks, and Google), invoking both bread-and-butter issues and challenging societal issues—including such distant cousins as COVID protections and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) principles—to show their relevance to modern workers. And in unionized workplaces, unions are pressing for higher wages and better benefits to address inflation.

An example of that approach regarding California’s nonprofit sector is a union’s announced goal of organizing workers to address “long-standing abuses of power that have led to unstable working conditions, including a lack of organizational transparency, discriminatory hiring and promotional practices and an absence of accountability.” Another common mantra is a pitch for “equal voice, strong representation, and a seat at the table of decision-making,” even in workplaces where employer-employee relations are good.