“Certain statements by the American president are symbolically very important,” remarks Rebecca Givan, a specialist in labor movements at Rutgers University.

Joe Biden appointed a former trade unionist, Marty Walsh, to the post of Minister of Labor, and reshaped the board of directors of the agency in charge of enforcing the labor law (NLRB).

His government tends to promote union jobs, such as when it invites General Motors and Ford to electric vehicle events but fails to invite Tesla, the only major automaker where the powerful UAW auto union is not. here.

"It's small steps that can make a difference," says Rebecca Givan.

But the current law is so biased in favor of employers that it remains extremely complicated to unionize, she believes.

Marty Walsh, former trade unionist and US Minister of Labor, on March 15, 2022 in Washington Jim WATSON AFP / Archives

According to the Gallup Institute, 68% of Americans say they support unions, the highest percentage since 1965.

But the rate of unionized workers in the private sector, which has been declining for several decades, fell further in 2021, to 6.1%.

The venerable RWDSU union, present in the distribution sector, failed last year to convince workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, to join its ranks.

The NLRB having judged that the multinational had broken certain rules, a second ballot is currently organized.

A protester holds a RWDSU union sign outside an Amazon warehouse on March 29, 2021 in Bessemer, Alabama Elijah Nouvelage Getty/AFP/Archives

In New York, a small independent group of former and current Amazon employees is leading the fight to form a union at two warehouses, with votes scheduled for late March and late April.

They won the right to hold a poll after having to collect enough signatures, an effort that took several months.

The group can during this time summon the workers at will to meetings during their working hours to dissuade them from the need for a union.

Young people and graduates

Small groups of workers, generally young and educated, have won a few victories in recent months, starting with Starbucks.

The employees of two cafes in Buffalo, in the northeast of the United States, voted in December for the creation of a union, a first in establishments directly managed by the chain in the United States.

They have been emulated and employees of more than 150 Starbucks have since requested the organization of a ballot.

Demonstration in support of Amazon and Starbucks employees, November 26, 2021 in New York Yuki IWAMURA AFP / Archives

In museums, non-profit organizations, universities, newsrooms, small groups of employees are also organizing.

But to really make a difference, the law would have to be changed, say several experts interviewed by AFP.

A text has indeed been proposed to the Congress, PRO act, but it has, in the current configuration, little chance of being adopted.

Julie Pinkham, director of the Massachusetts Nurses Association and a regular in the trade union world for 30 years, describes the succession of administrations as a "coaster", each bringing its share of reforms.

Even with a particularly union-friendly president like Joe Biden, any change "takes time" and his powers are limited.

"In the meantime, we're not stopping," she said.

"It has never been easy to negotiate (with employers, editor's note) but it has become even more difficult", according to her.

In his state in the northeast of the United States, it took three years for nurses at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford to create a union and negotiate a first collective agreement.

And after a 301-day strike that ended in early January, 700 nurses at St. Vincent's Hospital in Worcester faced a vote in February trying to dissolve their union.

Nurses and supporters demonstrate outside St. Vincent's Hospital on February 24, 2021 in Worcester, Massachusetts Joseph Prezioso AFP / Archives

New difficulties appear regularly, such as texts attempting to consider Uber or Lyft drivers as self-employed, thus making any attempt to unionize more difficult, also underlines Julie Pinkham.

Despite the obstacles, the context may play in favor of employees, says Rebecca Givan.

"They realized during the pandemic that their employers didn't care about their health," and they know that with a tight job market, "they can easily find a new job elsewhere."

© 2022 AFP