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It’s the year Labor brought the conflict model back to workplaces

Even the pro-union Biden administration has not handed unions the powers over employers and workers that Australia’s labour movement has got from Labor.

In 2022, the US experienced a 39 per cent increase in strikes compared to 2021. Polls suggest that community support for unions reached the highest level since the 1960s – jumping from less than 50 per cent in 2009 to over 70 per cent in 2022.

Political and institutional support for unions in the US is also running high. President Joe Biden has styled himself as “the most pro-union president”. Unions have achieved organising victories at Amazon and Starbucks. The largest nurses’ strike in US history has been staged. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has found Apple to be in breach of US law for holding mandatory “captive audience” meetings.

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Graeme Watson was formerly the vice president of the Fair Work Commission and a senior adviser to the Morrison government. He is currently strategic counsel at King & Wood Mallesons.
Paul Burns is a partner in the employment and labour practice of Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

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    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/it-s-the-year-labor-brought-the-conflict-model-back-to-workplaces-20230116-p5ccrc