Portside

In Kentucky, workers organizing for a union at Amazon's biggest air hub are demanding the rehire of fired activists. Despite the retaliation, "our activity has been contagious among our co-workers," writes Griffin Ritze. Workers in various departments have taken direct action for immediate demands.

Last year, the union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 10.1% — the lowest on record. The absolute number of American workers in unions did grow in 2022 — by approximately 200,000. But the number of non-union jobs grew faster.

Employers are using heavy-handed tactics to prevent workers from organizing, and U.S. labor union density is falling as a result.

The year has been characterized by incredible solidarity, as Starbucks and Amazon workers challenged our conceptions of political possibility and galvanized a resurgent labor movement. It was a year of taking power to task, from the fearless Warrior Met strike to the militance of worker-led, independent union drives at Amazon, Trader Joe's and Chipotle.