MARCH 6, 2026 LABOR Unions have a long, proud and often contentious history in Michigan, from the Flint sit-down strikes that launched the United Auto Workers in the 1930s to the current struggle by Starbucks workers in Washtenaw County to get better wages. Union membership in America has declined steadily since the 1970s. The share of all U.S. workers who belong to a union or are covered by a union contract has fallen over the past 50-55 years. In 2025, just 11.2% of all workers in the country were covered by a union contract, according to federal data. In the private sector, just 6.8% of workers were covered by a union agreement. This compares to 23-29% covered in 1970. Unions remain strong in some important areas of the Michigan economy. Recently, the UAW successfully fought to protect the job of Ford Dearborn assembly plant worker TJ Sabula who was suspended after heckling President Donald Trump as he toured the factory. But many workers face business monopolies that keep workers without competitive pay and little or no healthcare insurance. For example, executives for Starbucks refuse to honor Starbucks employees' decision to form a labor union. Nurses and teachers from all over America are striking, striving to receive the compensation and decency they deserve in today’s workforce. Since 1979, Labor Notes, a media and organizing project, has been the voice of union activists who want to reinvigorate the labor movement. Through their magazine, website, books, conferences and workshops, they promote organizing, aggressive strategies to take on employers, labor-community solidarity and unions that are run by their members. Labor Notes covers a wide range of MIKE JONES Groundcover vendor No. 113 labor union and social justice issues. Labor Notes has often focused over the years on the United Auto Workers, which once set the pace for wages and healthcare across many industries. The UAW succeeded in February in winning 20% wage increases for Volkswagen workers in Tennessee and negotiated historic improvements (a 30% wage increase with over $42 per hour at the top end, reinstatement of cost of living increases, and elimination of the wage tier system) for workers at the Detroit automakers in 2023. But the UAW has also been rocked in recent years by corruption scandals. The 2026 Labor Notes Conference is scheduled for June 12–14, in the Chicago area, at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois. This major gathering of union activists, reformers and workers will feature over 200 workshops and meetings focused on bargaining, organizing and strengthening the labor movement. The Labor Heritage Foundation's Great Labor Arts Exchange, an annual arts festival that celebrates the history of the labor movement, will be part of the conference events. Registration is now open. Jane Slaughter, the long-time editor of Labor Notes, now retired, spoke with Groundcover News about the state of labor unions and the challenges workers face. GCN: Is Labor Notes trying to get more readers outside of the labor movement? Slaughter: We have been mainly directed at those in the movement, but there are a lot of people that read it that are not involved with unions that support the publication. GCN: What’s the relationship between Labor Notes and big unions, especially the UAW? Slaughter: That has varied over the Published by Labor Notes (2016) years. When Labor Notes got started in 1979, UAW thought we were the worst of the worst because we criticized the union when they didn’t do the right thing. Since then some unions have changed leadership from time to time, so we were able to have good relationships with some union leaders like UAW President Shawn Fain. GCN: That brings me to my next What is a labor union? A labor union is a group of employees who organize together to collectively bargain with their employer for better wages, benefits, and working conditions, acting as a unified voice to gain more power than individuals have alone. Through democratic processes, members elect leaders to negotiate contracts (collective bargaining agreement) covering pay, hours, safety and job security, ensuring fairer treatment and greater job security. question: Do you feel that UAW President Shawn Fain is more in sync with the Labor Notes viewpoint than his immediate predecessors? Slaughter: Yes, he spoke at the last conference and was very popular. Shawn Fain is like night and day from UAW presidents in the past. Because those before him who ran the UAW were corrupt, and worthless when it came to standing up for the workers. We at Labor Notes support Shawn Fain wholeheartedly. We believe he is doing a good job as a leader, but the UAW needs a broader base movement, like locals standing up to management on the shop floor. It can't always come from the top. There is a long way to go to make the UAW what it should and can be. GCN: How do you think workers at Starbucks and Amazon can successfully unionize? Slaughter: As you know employees have been unionizing several years now, but they still don’t have a contract. They started bargaining with Starbuck’s management and management refuses to budge on a lot of things that are important to them. Starbucks has 10,000 stores and only 600 stores are unionized, so a strike is not going to have a huge impact. I believe they are doing the right thing striking and trying to get public support, and they are getting public support because it is such a visible brand, but still have a long way to go. Amazon is a whole ‘nother profession, also extremely hard to unionize because management, in the form of owner Jeff Bezos, opposes unionizing. I feel the Teamsters could be doing more because organizing Amazon is absolutely essential for the future of the labor movement. One of the Teamsters’ biggest employers is UPS, and Amazon tends to eat UPS’s lunch, and see LABOR NOTES page 11 Brief history of labor unions The era when workers fought for their rights spans from the late 18th century Industrial Revolution through the Progressive Era (early 20th century) and beyond, with major milestones including early strikes in the 1700s, the formation of national unions like the National Labor Union (1866), and militant actions in the 1880s-90s (Knights of Labor). Landmark legislation like the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) established minimum wage, overtime and child labor laws. There were ongoing fights for rights in the mid-tolate 20th century, with struggle in the Civil Rights Era (1960s), as seen in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. The first U.S. trade union, The Federal Society of Journeyman Cordwainers (shoemakers) was formed in Philadelphia in 1794, marking the start of sustained union organization, though efforts like the 1768 tailors' strike showed earlier worker action. In 1818 the General Union of Trades (Philanthropic Society) formed in Manchester (UK), an early attempt to unite different trades. In 1869 the Knights of Labor were founded, becoming the first significant national labor organization in the United States, recruiting diverse workers. GROUNDCOVER NEWS Labor unions and Labor Notes Conference 2026 7
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