As an operational leader, you’re constantly looking for ways to attract top talent, reduce turnover, and cultivate an engaged hourly workforce.

Amidst these challenges, you’ve likely noticed a growing trend—a renewed interest in unions. While unions have historically been associated with manufacturing and industrial sectors, their appeal is expanding across industries, including retail.

Whether driven by concerns over fair wages and benefits or simply a desire for more structured communication with management, this resurgence in unions for hourly workers presents new challenges for businesses.

By understanding the reasons behind this shift and adopting proactive strategies, management can cultivate a workplace that addresses the needs of its workforce while ensuring business success. Hint: leveraging workforce management (WFM) software is key and can help you deliver what your employees want without the need for unionization.

Factors Fueling the Resurgence

The resurgence of unions for hourly workers can be attributed to several key factors, including stagnant wages and income inequality, which have led to a decline in living standards for many workers.

The shift towards service-oriented and gig economies has created new challenges for workers seeking fair compensation and better working conditions. With an increased awareness of labor rights and social justice, workers feel called to organize and demand a stronger collective voice in the workplace.

Economic Insecurity and Wage Stagnation

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in our global economy, and its impact continues to affect the U.S. workforce today. Despite taking on greater risks as essential workers during that challenging period, many hourly workers have been left dealing with stagnant wages.

This, coupled with inflation and the increased cost of living, fuels feelings of economic uncertainty for many workers. It starkly contrasts the profits that many companies, especially large corporations, witnessed throughout the same period.

For many, union membership represents a collective bargaining tool to potentially improve their economic standing and advocate for fairer wages and employee benefits.

This growing economic uncertainty, combined with some companies’ prioritization of profit maximization, has led many to become curious about labor unions.

They want to know what it takes to start or join one, as it represents an avenue for employees to collaborate to influence workplace conditions and improve workers’ lives.

Desire for Improved Work-Life Balance

Hourly workers face long hours, inflexible schedules, and unpredictable shifts, which ultimately disrupts their work-life balance.

Legion WFM’s 2024 State of the Hourly Workforce report revealed that 55% of respondents would consider switching jobs for more flexibility with their shifts. These findings underscore a crucial need for organizations with hourly workforces—flexibility.

The same survey found that 27% of employees wish there had been a unionization effort at their employer. The catalysts behind unionization efforts included low wages (68%), poor employee benefits (56%), poor work-life balance (51%), lack of schedule flexibility (46%), social and/or political issues (41%), and compliance and safety violations (31%).

Many people believe a union can help secure improvements to those workplace conditions through collective bargaining agreements. This could involve advocating for predictable scheduling practices, guaranteed minimum weekly hours, and protocols for requesting time off.

Unions often actively represent worker needs to employers, especially regarding topics like scheduling and workplace conditions that directly impact the worker’s personal time and mental health.

Shifting Public Perception

Public support for unions has seen a notable shift. This coincides with recent high-profile labor actions and organizing efforts, including those within large corporations.
According to Pew Research, 61% of U.S. adults agree that a decline in union participation negatively impacts workers, suggesting growing recognition of their potential benefits. Such shifts contribute to destigmatizing the concept of unions for hourly workers, helping them become a more palatable and normalized option.

This encourages employees previously hesitant due to societal stigmas to reconsider their stance. Societal acceptance of unions is not the only factor changing, either. Data highlights economic disparities impacting nonunion workers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics points to a notable difference in worker pay—union workers see median weekly earnings of $1,263 compared to $1,090 for those without representation. With numbers like this reaching the public consciousness, union participation no longer seems as daunting.

Navigating the Evolving Landscape

Employers can deliver on the needs of their frontline employees by embracing modern workforce management.

Wages and Benefits

Wages and benefits are perhaps the most important way to address workers’ concerns.

Instant access to earned wages will help you remain competitive. Legion InstantPay enables employees to access a portion of their earned income before their scheduled payday.

Offering better access to pay and gig-like flexibility through Legion Automated Scheduling allows you to help your employees reduce financial stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Our employee scheduling software allows employees to access their schedule, request shifts, swap shifts, and more, all from the same app they use to access their pay.

Prioritize Communication

HR and management teams play a pivotal role in fostering constructive communication between employees and management, regardless of whether you have unionized workers.

Regularly surveying employee satisfaction, addressing concerns transparently, and ensuring mechanisms for open communication build a more trusting and mutually respectful environment.

Legion Frontline Communications streamlines how hourly workers communicate within your organization. With one easy-to-use mobile app with a built-in chat, newsfeed, announcements, polls, and surveys, you can maintain open lines of communication with employees.

Remain Agile While Shaping the Future

The rise of unions for hourly workers presents both a challenge and an opportunity for businesses across numerous sectors.

As employee expectations evolve and awareness grows about topics like work-life balance and wage stagnation, organizations must keep up with these demands.

Businesses also need to be proactive in responding to the changing dynamics of today’s workforce. It is not solely about preventing unionization.

Contact us today to learn how Legion Workforce Management Software can help you open valuable communication channels, provide instant access to earned wages, and maintain a robust performance and recognition program to keep your employees happy.