Florida is not the first state to loosen child labor protections, or even the most aggressive in that effort. Last year eight states, all led by Republicans, did so, according to a tracking by the labor-affiliated Economic Policy Institute.
The proposal from outside the White House has the potential to upend our entire system of labor relations.
Today’s labor movement has been built to rely on forms of power that are all going away.
Trump’s NLRB will likely be filled with lawyers from the union-busting world hell-bent on rolling back workers’ gains.
Changes would likely make it more difficult for workers to form unions and negotiate workplace improvements, but the labor movement may withstand those headwinds since many of the factors that have driven its growth remain in place, experts said.
Unions need to plan a response now.
But local governments - cities and counties - are stepping up to advocate for workers.
This year, state advocates were better equipped to organize in opposition to harmful bills
A surge of organizing could weaken some of the forces that have made organizing difficult in recent decades. It could inhibit some of the structural changes, start to alter the political factors, and counter the aggressiveness of employers.
Windmill Farms mushroom workers and UFW President Teresa Romero come to Seattle to share their struggle to fight exploitation and unionize.
Spread the word