Union Activism Is Not for the Young

Mike Antonucci:

Back in January we noted that, according to the annual report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the age of union members was increasingly skewing older relative to the entire workforce. If the trend continues, unions will correspondingly suffer from member attrition - in addition to all the other challenges they face.

This will be less of an issue in states where collective bargaining laws essentially mandate union membership (or fee-paying). New, young employees will become union members and replace their older, retiring counterparts. But in NEA, at least, there is another problem that legislation can't address - activism.

The union is launching a major effort to engage younger members to become more active in NEA's mission, because its internal research shows that while the average age of an NEA member is 46, the average age of an NEA activist is 57.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 22, 2012 1:58 AM
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