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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


While we could spend time discussing former Congressman Beto O’Rourke and his Presidential campaign selling a “This Is F***** Up” shirt (in reference to O’Rourke’s comments about his perceived lack of action on stricter gun control) and the fact that the campaign proudly boasts that the shirts are union made, I think we would be better served taking a look at other labor and employment law related developments this week.  (Although O’Rourke’s decision to point out that the shirts are union made lends further credence to the notion that the Democratic candidates for President are making every effort to make inroads with big labor ahead of next year’s primaries and general election.)

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Potential Unionization at Arizona Republic Leads to Accusations Against Union Supporters

Late last week, the Executive Editor at the Arizona Republic sent staff an e-mail in which he advised they “carefully consider the consequences” of unionizing.  Now that alone might not necessarily be anything to note.  However, the Executive Editor went on to accuse union supporters at the newspaper of monitoring and tracking the movement and actions of co-workers that did not support unionizing.  That has led to tensions escalating on both sides, as workers at the newspaper weigh whether or not to unionize.  Something tells me this is not the last we will hear of unionization efforts at the Arizona Republic.


Is Grass Roots Labor Activism A Way For Unions to Regain Foothold?

Noam Scheiber at The New York Times wrote a recent article in which he noted that the emergence of grass roots organizers for labor activities might be one way for unions to regain a foothold in the workplace.  Given that union members now make up approximately only a tenth of the workforce (compared to approximately a third back in the 1950’s), union prominence remains at an extremely low level.  It is worth noting that while there is a concern that big labor does not properly address the concerns of workers, the grass roots labor activism has been more useful to bring workers “into the fold” and address their issues.  Whether big labor will find a way to harness these grass roots activists  and increase union membership over the long haul remains to be seen, but for the time being, this should be viewed as a promising development for labor in the U.S.

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