How America's unions can reinvent themselves in the new economy

Union membership is collapsing, but income inequality is on the rise

Strike
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Richard Drew))

Fast food workers nationwide are staging a massive 100-city strike Thursday to call for higher wages and harassment-free union representation. It's the latest iteration of a growing movement, buoyed by union support, to raise income inequality to the forefront of political debate.

The pleas for union representation are particularly notable given how unions have steadily eroded over the past half century. Union membership fell by 400,000 last year alone, dropping to its lowest level as a percentage of the work force since the 1930s.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.