Christopher Morris/Getty Images(NEW YORK) U.S. labor unions enjoy their highest level of approval in almost 60 years, as high-profile worker victories at Amazon and Starbucks have galvanized public support. However, union membership the lifeblood of the labor movement has fallen to a historic low. The decline of labor power stems in part
Christopher Morris/Getty Images(NEW YORK) U.S. labor unions enjoy their highest level of approval in almost 60 years, as high-profile worker victories at Amazon and Starbucks have galvanized public support. However, union membership the lifeblood of the labor movement has fallen to a historic low. The decline of labor power stems in part from federal labor law, since employers retain wide latitude to obstruct union campaigns, labor experts told ABC News. Businesses, in turn, often push down wages and weaken labor conditions in pursuit of a competitive advantage, exploiting the lack of worker representation at their firms, the experts said. But a first-of-its-kind state bill that cleared the California legislature on Monday could circumvent those challenges and transform the future of worker bargaining, the analysts said. If signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, the law would allow hundreds of thousands of fast food workers to bargain collectively over the terms of their work at