Why so many workers are walking the picket lines
MINNEAPOLIS — More and more workers are collectively fighting for higher wages.
There are a few factors - including the pandemic and a younger generation moving into the workforce.
"There's a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm in the labor movement right now," said labor historian and former Macalester College professor Peter Rachleff.
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During the pandemic, words like "essential" were used to describe workers. More people quitting their jobs created higher worker demand, meaning more leverage to fight for things like higher pay and benefits.
"Workers began to feel that they were entitled to be compensated as if they were essential," said Rachleff.
As younger people aged into the workforce, Rachleff says they've ignited a new energy and passion within the labor movement, at companies like Starbucks, Trader Joes and Amazon.
"Coming to adulthood, facing the reality that they might be the first generation in American history to earn less than their parents' generation had earned," he said.
Rachleff said these labor movements are far from done for the foreseeable future.
It's like a domino effect, if one group strikes and succeeds, others are sure to follow.
The strikes will boost pay for non-union employees as well, since employers will have to compete to attract employees, according to Rachleff.
"I think that we're going to see decreased inequality in the United States," said Rachleff. "Even for those workers who are not in unions, they will begin to see higher wages and benefits being offered to them."
