Three Ways 2023 Was A Banner Year For Unions

By Tim Murphy and Meaghan Murphy - Skoler Abbott

March 27, 2024

Now that the dust has settled on 2023, it’s crystal clear that it was a banner year for unions. Any way you look at it – new members, wage hikes, strikes – the numbers reveal impressive union gains not seen in a generation. Let’s take a closer look.

New Members: Unions organized approximately 100,000 new workers in NLRB-conducted representation elections last year; the highest total since 2000. This organizing success continues a trend that began in 2020.

Strikes: In 2023, more than half a million workers went out on strikes called by their unions – the second highest total since 1990. Here too, the 2023 strike totals fall in line with a three-year trend – beginning in 2020 – of increased union-initiated strike activity.

Pay Hikes: First-year contract pay hikes for union workers averaged 6.6% in 2023, the highest average since 1988. (Analysis of 952 union contracts, covering 2.8 million workers, ratified last year)  The average pay hike in 2022 was 5.7% and 3.7% in 2021.

Are these numbers just the temporary aftermath of a pandemic, or will these trends continue in 2024? Time will tell.

What does this mean for employers? The answer may depend on whether your workforce is unionized or not. Non-unionized employers, wishing to remain that way, will do well to continue to treat their employers fairly in every way, in order to assure their workers that third-party representation by unions is unnecessary. Of course, unionized employers must continue to manage their enterprises to maximize competitiveness while working with unions in a collaborative way designed to maximize mutual gain.  And for non-unionized employers who see signs of union organizing, it’s important to consult with you labor and employment counsel to know learn you can – and maybe more importantly, cannot – do to remain union-free.

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