Why Labor Unions Are Targeting Youth?

Today’s labor unions have a big problem: membership. As of 2020, less than seven percent of private-sector workers were part of a union. And membership rates have been plummeting for years.

But labor leaders think they have a plan to turn things around: Target and organize the next generation of workers. If you’re between the ages of 18 and 34, Big Labor Wants You!

Labor unions have one major motivator for growing their ranks: money. On average, larger unions collected almost $2.5 million in dues in 2019. For each member, these dues can range anywhere from $360-$1200 per year. And that's not including initiation fees which can easily cost over $100 dollars.

The steady drop in membership has meant a drop in the amount of dues unions take in. And unions losing money is bad news for their allies on the political Left, who rely heavily on the funding they receive from unions each year. In fact, labor unions spent a whopping $1.8 billion on politics and lobbying in 2020, the vast majority of which went to Democratic causes, regardless of the political preference of dues-paying union members.

It turns out that even during a global pandemic, one that left many union members without jobs, Big Labor made sure to prioritize its own political agenda.

Then, there’s the track record of corruption.

For example, in 2020 the United Auto Workers was put under a six-year-long monitorship after a federal investigation found several union officials—including two past presidents—guilty of wrongdoing, including embezzlement and fraud. The next year, the executive director of the Service Employees International Union’s California arm was also charged with multiple counts of tax fraud, embezzlement, and perjury. And those are just some of the latest examples.

Young voters should know that unions want to collect as much money as possible to fuel their political agenda, which may not align with their own. And since their traditional worker base is no longer buying what they’re selling, unions are turning to the younger generation to help line their pockets. The gig economy, restaurant workers, media companies, and tech operations are among newly targeted workplaces.

Young Americans deserve to know the truth about Big Labor’s quest for more money and political power -- all at the expense of young people’s individual paychecks