Unions Flex Power When Workers Are in Short Supply

livemint.com:

Labor unions are exerting clout not seen in decades, winning big pay increases and better benefits in industries beset with worker shortages. Airlines, package shippers and ports all struggled to hire desperately needed workers as the economy emerged from the pandemic, and then agreed to double-digit raises with their unions this summer. Whether other employers without such hiring difficulties, including car manufacturers facing a strike threat from the United Auto Workers, follow suit remains to be seen.

Pilots at American Airlines last month ratified a contract boosting wages by more than 40% over its four-year term. West Coast dockworkers secured a 32% raise through 2028 this summer. United Parcel Service workers affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters struck a deal that will increase top hourly pay by 18% over the five years.

The agreement will push the average full-time driver to $170,000 annually in pay and benefits, the UPS chief executive said. In some cases, the unions’ latest gains just catch up to pay increases that nonunion Americans landed since the pandemic hit the U.S. economy in 2020.

Wages and benefits for nonunion workers were up 15.8% from the end of 2019 through June, compared with a 12.2% gain for unionized workers, according to the Labor Department. Union workers earn more on average but accounted for just about 10% of the workforce in 2022, a record-low share. The UAW’s demands have included a 40% pay increase over four years and a 32-hour workweek.