The State of Organizing in California: Challenges and Possibilities

Abstract

The authors assess the status of recent organizing efforts in California and examine the challenges that must be overcome if California unions are going to significantly increase union density in the state. Through their analysis of a combination of national and state data on employment, union membership, workforce and union demographics, and public and private sector union organizing activity, they find that unions in California have been more successful than unions in other states in increasing union membership and density in both the private and public sectors. In particular, the California labor movement has made significant strides in organizing immigrant workers, especially in health care and other services. Still, when placed in the context of employment growth, the authors find that organizing gains in California continue to be relatively modest and have been concentrated in a limited number of occupations and industries. Using their findings from a national survey of NLRB election campaigns, the authors argue that unions in California will only be able to fulfill the potential provided them by increasing density and a diverse workforce if they run more comprehensive organizing campaigns and more effectively use their political influence and bargaining power to improve the environment for organizing in the state.