Jessica Caggiano Discusses Growing Demand for Union Representation

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reported an increase in the number of union representation petitions in the first half of the 2023 fiscal year, with unfair labor practice charges rising by 16 percent. Amidst a changing workforce and a rising interest in labor organizing, the services of labor attorneys are in high demand. Willig, Williams & Davidson attorney Jessica C. Caggiano discussed the various factors contributing to the current need for labor advocacy in a recent article in The Legal Intelligencer.

Caggiano highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on workers’ desire to organize and seek representation, saying, “A lot of people realized during the early stages of the COVID pandemic how little protection they had on the job.”

She noted that inflation continues to motivate workers to organize. “We’ve seen wages stagnate relative to inflation” for a while, Caggiano says. “There is a significant impact to working class, middle class [people] in terms of how much you can earn and how far your dollars go.”

According to Caggiano, the “momentum of the people currently involved,” is driving current organizing trends. The more success workers have in organizing and negotiating collective bargaining agreements, the longer this trend will continue.

Read the full article online: Brisk Demand for Labor Work Is Here to Stay, Thanks to a Tougher NLRB and Workers’ Fresh View of Unions (Subscription is required.)