Accessibility links
collective bargaining collective bargaining
Stories About

collective bargaining

Sunday

Anthony Lee is president of NTEU Chapter 282, the union representing close to 9,000 employees of the Food and Drug Administration.

Anthony Lee is president of NTEU Chapter 282, the union representing close to 9,000 employees at the Food and Drug Administration. Andrea Hsu/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Andrea Hsu/NPR

Politics

Federal employee unions fight for survival as Trump tries to eviscerate them

In 1978, Congress gave federal workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, finding it in the public interest. Now Trump wants to end those labor rights for most of the federal workforce.

The rationale for collective bargaining in government

Listen · 4:32
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5381156/nx-s1-5451796-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Tuesday

Amazon, Starbucks worker unions are in limbo, even as UAW and others triumph

Starbucks workers including barista Kat Ramos stand with striking SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America members on the picket line in solidarity outside Netflix studios on July 28, 2023 in Los Angeles, Calif. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Business

Amazon, Starbucks worker unions are in limbo, even as UAW and others triumph

Amazon workers formed their first union. And at Starbucks, 380 stores are unionized, but not one has a contract. But the big, established unions have won big raises for workers.

Amazon, Starbucks worker unions are in limbo, even as UAW and others triumph

Listen · 4:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1219882722/1222643812" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

A super-sized labor experiment
David McNew/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

A super-sized labor experiment

How would you like your burger? With a side of higher wages? Today on the menu, California's FAST Recovery Act is rethinking labor relations for the fast food industry.

A super-sized labor experiment

Listen · 9:03
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1123054332/1198988414" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Dollar store workers in the South have a labor movement. Just don't call it a union

David Williams is a stocker at a Dollar General store in New Orleans. He's pushing for better work conditions and pay at his store with help from Step Up Louisiana. Stephan Bisaha/Gulf States Newsroom hide caption

toggle caption
Stephan Bisaha/Gulf States Newsroom

Business

Dollar store workers in the South have a labor movement. Just don't call it a union

WBHM

Unions aren't popular in the South. That's one reason why a labor organizing campaign at Dolllar General stores in Louisiana doesn't use the u-word.

Dollar store workers in the South have a labor movement. Just don't call it a union

Listen · 4:16
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1120473763/1120917872" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

One unionized. The other did not. How 2 Milwaukee cafés were changed by union drives

Scott Lucey, owner of Likewise Coffee whose staff unionized in 2020, sits for a portrait on June 9, 2022 in Milwaukee. Darren Hauck for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Darren Hauck for NPR

The New Ground Zero For Unions: Coffee Houses

One unionized. The other did not. How 2 Milwaukee cafés were changed by union drives

A barista-led labor movement has dealt challenges to coffee shop owners, and not just Howard Schultz. In Milwaukee, two independently owned cafés faced union drives with two very different outcomes.

One unionized. The other did not. How 2 Milwaukee cafés were changed by union drives

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1105117961/1108167954" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

'It's Time To Get Something Back': Union Workers' Voices Are Getting Louder

United Auto Workers members picket Wednesday at a General Motors plant in Flint, Mich. Last year, more U.S. workers went on strike than at any time since 1986. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Economy

'It's Time To Get Something Back': Union Workers' Voices Are Getting Louder

Unions and their supporters around the country are assessing whether the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors is a sign of renewed labor power.

'It's Time To Get Something Back': Union Workers' Voices Are Getting Louder

Listen · 4:24
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/772760183/772775890" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Ohio's Repeal Of Union Law Could Fuel Democrats

Opponents of a law limiting collective-bargaining rights cheer in Cleveland as they hear election results sounding the defeat of the measure in the Ohio general election on Tuesday. Amy Sancetta/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Amy Sancetta/AP

It's All Politics

Ohio's Repeal Of Union Law Could Fuel Democrats

In a closely watched vote Tuesday, Ohio voters overturned the state's new law limiting collective-bargaining rights for public employees. It's a victory for organized labor and their Democratic allies in a key electoral battleground ahead of 2012.

Thursday

Ohio's Upcoming 'Issue 2' Vote Carries Larger Political Implications

Protesters against Senate Bill 5 during a rally in February 2011 in Columbus.

J.D. Pooley/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
J.D. Pooley/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Ohio's Upcoming 'Issue 2' Vote Carries Larger Political Implications

The pitched political battle pitting public workers unions against Republican budget-cutters is in its final stages in Ohio. Voters will cast ballots on Nov. 8 that could repeal the law that severely limits collective bargaining in the Buckeye State.