Millennials give US unions hope but need new focus

Significance

Unions remain well-entrenched in the public sector, but their influence has fallen in much of the private sector. One exception is workers in knowledge-based industries, often Millennials, who are injecting activism on social issues and corporate policy into the idea of union membership.

Impacts

• Blue-collar industrial union membership will not revive as such jobs will not return despite political claims otherwise.
• Job security and wage protection will remain the main attraction of unions for low-paid manual and service workers.
• Unions will seek large pay rises next year as, historically, unionised wages track non-unionised raises with a slight lag.