Monthly Archives: September 2015

A recent Gallup Poll shows that six out of every 10 Americans now support labor unions — a phenomenal five point jump above the previous year. Overall, Gallup found that support for labor unions is now at an impressive 58%, the highest it has been since 2008.

The latest results are from the 2015 installment of Gallup’s annual Work and Education survey that was conducted earlier this month. The results state, “Consistent with the recent increase in approval of unions, the percentage of Americans saying they would like labor unions to have more influence in the country has also been rising, and now stands at 37%, up from 25% in 2009.”

On September 16, members of Congress, led by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), proposed the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (WAGE) Act. The WAGE Act will amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to strengthen worker protections. The legislation would strengthen protections for workers who join together with their co-workers to win improvements at work.  It would discourage employer retaliation against workers for exercising their rights and assure prompt, fair remedies for workers.  This bill to make labor law enforcement more effective is one of many reforms that are needed in order to give American workers a fair shot at winning the wages and working conditions they deserve.

The WAGE Act will strengthen protections for workers by:

• Providing swift temporary reinstatement when workers are fired or retaliated against for exercising their rights to join together to seek improvements on the job.
• Strengthening the remedies for workers who are fired or retaliated against, and give workers the ability to bring their case directly to court.
• Establishing strong penalties against employers who violate workers’ rights.
• Providing real, meaningful, timely remedies when employers interfere with fair elections.
• Streamlining the NLRB’s processes.
• Improving workers’ knowledge of their rights.