Howafire boosted U.S. labor movement
My Great Aunt Fannie Lansner came to the end of her sixday workweek on Saturday, March 25, 1911, at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.
She never came home, one of 146 victims of the shameful New York City workplace fire known by the site’s name — a preventable tragedy that turbocharged the nation’s labor movement.
The sister of my paternal grandfather, this Lithuanian immigrant was just 21 when she died 110 years ago — first helping co-workers to safety then forced to leap out of a high-rise window to avoid the flames. She and many others had toiled in a garment factory built out of reach of the city fire ladders, without adequate fire protection or emergency exits.
Work was tough and poorly compensated, and the factory owners had recently defeated a unionization effort. The two men were acquitted of criminal charges related to the fire.
So every year at this time, I honor Great Aunt Fannie’s memory with a column noting what it takes to improve the American workplace.
The Triangle deaths became a rallying cry for the nation’s fledgling labor unions, creating a national push for fair compensation, workplace safety laws and building codes. The surge for change made political heroes from the likes of future president Franklin Roosevelt to Frances Perkins, who would become the nation’s first female cabinet member as labor secretary under Roosevelt.
And there was unionist Rose Schneiderman — who also helped New York women get the right to vote and was a founder of the American Civil Liberties Union — who said at a protest shortly after the fire, “The life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred! There are so many of us for one job, it matters little if 140-odd are burned to death.”
Great Aunt Fannie, I believe, would be pleased with how the workplace has evolved. Better pay within a 40-hour, five-day workweek would certainly be a welcome improvement. Yes, I know, fewer and fewer folks work that little these days.
Employment’s fringe benefits — not always perfect for some employees — would cheer her, too.
But what would Great Aunt Fannie think about the state of a worker’s rights or the union movement? And what of jobs in the pandemic era — if one was lucky enough to keep one or survive the health risks involved?
The coronavirus throttled the national and state job
market by varying degrees. Union membership statistics are one yardstick to gauge how workers fared.
Just ponder what my trusty spreadsheet found in data from Unionstats.com, which tracks organized labor’s impact. Looking at the nation’s 50 largest job markets, the pandemic year’s unprecedented employment upheaval pushed the share of union members up by a half percentage point to 11.4%.
But even that was awkward growth: Organized labor lost 3% of its membership in 2020, while all other employment fell 8% in the year.
These patterns were by no means universal. Organized labor lost 8% of its members at companies in the 50 metropolitan areas where 6.7% of jobs are unionized. In government, where 40% of workers are in unions, labor lost just 2% of its members.
You see mixed patterns like this in California’s six giant job markets, where you might find surprising union clout.
Inland Empire
Did you know that Riverside and San Bernardino counties have organized labor’s largest share of workers in the nation?
Last year’s 366,668 union membership was down 8% vs. 2019. But nonunion jobs fell 10% in the year. That’s how this region’s union share of the workforce rose a half percentage point to 22.7%.
Private industry? Helped by the region’s heavily unionized logistics industries, Inland Empire companies have 203,633 members equal to 15% of all private industry jobs. That’s also the top share in the U.S.
Public sector? Unions have 163,036 government members — translating to 61.7% of all government workers, ranking No. 7.
Sacramento
The state capital’s share of union members is the nation’s second-highest.
Last year’s 208,327 union membership ranked No. 12 nationally and was up 14% vs. 2019. But nonunion jobs fell 15% so the union share hit 22.4% members — just behind the Inland Empire — and was up from 17.6% in 2019.
Private industry? 84,277 members were 11.8% of all company work — No. 3 share — versus 8.2% in 2019.
Public sector? 124,050 members were 58% of government jobs — No. 9 — versus 51.5% in 2019.
San Francisco
The metro on the bay ranks No. 11 for union clout.
Last year’s 309,664 union membership ranked No. 6 nationally and was down 4% vs. 2019. Nonunion jobs dropped 3%. So organized labor’s workforce share was 14.3% — No. 11 nationally — and down from 14.5% in 2019.
Private industry? 170,985 members equal 9% of jobs — a share ranked No. 12 — versus 9.7% in 2019.
Public sector? 138,679 members were
52.8% of government jobs — No. 15 — versus 53.4% in 2019.
Los Angeles-orange County
Last year’s 659,426 union members were the second-largest group among the 50 big markets.
But that was off 15% versus 2019 — bigger losses than what nonmembers suffered in an 11% drop.
Organized labor’s share of the L.A.-O.C. workforce was 13.3% — No. 16 among the 50 — and down from 13.7% in 2019.
Private industry? 316,244 members were 7.4% of jobs — No. 19 share — versus 8% in 2019.
Public sector? 343,181 members equaled 50.6% of government workers — No. 16 share — versus 54.3% in 2019.
San Diego
Last year’s 143,711 union members ranked No. 17 among the 50 — up 0.4% versus 2019. Nonunion jobs fell 14% in a year.
That translates to an 11.4% union share — a midrange No. 24 ranking — up from 10% in 2019.
Private industry? 64,233 members were 6.2% of jobs — No. 22 of 50 — versus 6.1% in 2019.
Public sector? 79,478 members translate to 37% of the workforce — No. 23 — versus 34.7% in 2019.
San Jose
Organized labor’s smallest penetration among California’s largest job markets still ranks middle-of-the-pack nationally.
Last year’s 93,245 union members ranked No. 29 — up 10% versus 2019. Nonunion jobs? Fell 4% in a year.
That put unions’ share at 10.3% — No. 27 nationally — and up from 9.1% in 2019.
Private industry? 47,026 members are 5.8% of all company employees — No. 25 share — versus 5.1% in 2019.
Public sector? 46,219 members were 49% of government jobs — No. 19 — versus 47.3% in 2019.