The National Labor Relations Board reported a 53 percent year-over-year increase in union election petitions over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, 71 percent of Americans say they approve of labor unions, according to Gallup, the highest support in the annual poll since 1965, the Washington Post reported. “In a time where most institutions, including the Supreme Court, are becoming less and less popular or trusted, unions have their highest level of popularity in decades,” said David Weil, the Labor Department’s top wage and hour regulator under President Barack Obama. “We certainly see a restiveness that is coming out of the pandemic. There’s a greater willingness of working people to show dissatisfaction.” However, as the economy teeters toward a downturn in coming months, the window for cementing more victories could be narrowing. Already job openings have fallen, and some companies — particularly in technology and interest-rate-sensitive sectors such as mortgage finance — have ordered hiring freezes and layoffs, igniting fears that the paradigm of power in favor of workers could be short-lived.
