Unions are more popular than the two corporate parties in the USA – the Republicans and Democrats. The labor movement has consistently received significantly more support from the American public than either the Republican and Democratic parties in recent years. For the 8th year in a row, support for unions was above 60% while support for the two corporate parties reached no more than 51%. It reflects how the largely unorganized working class sees unions as a way to fight back against ever-expanding wealth disparity and an ongoing decline of living standards.
So far, unions have been unable to transform that support into increased union membership. Union density had decreased to a record low of 10% by the end of 2023. Frequently anti-union labor law is cited as one of the biggest obstacles for the labor movement, both making it more difficult to organize new workplaces and to defend against attacks on already-unionized workforces. Generally speaking, the political strategy of the labor movement to win more favorable labor laws has been to contribute money, organizing staff, and other resources to the election campaigns of the Republicans and Democrats. In four of the last five election cycles, unions spent more than $200 million on the elections. In all five, more than 85% of that money went to the Democratic Party.
These hundreds of millions of dollars have not increased union density or improved living standards for most workers. The two most recent Democratic administrations never passed their flagship pro-labor legislation promised in exchange for union support (The Employee Free Choice Act [EFCA] under Obama, and the Protect the Right to Organize [PRO] Act under Biden) despite multiple years of controlling the Presidency and both houses of Congress at the same time.
Read the rest of the article here: How a New, Union-Backed Workers’ Party Could Win In the Next Elections – Independent Socialist Group
