Doug (in response to Jennifer Young):
>>The article
>>mentioned that unions have historically shunned "the young, low-wage
workers
>>that staff the retail sector".
>
>Because they're very difficult to organize and because low-wage
workers
>can't pay big dues.
>On the other hand, some unions, like HERE and the SEIU, are giving
>it the old college try.
The division of retail workers between small workplaces and small, competitive employers is a big factor here too. Keep in mind that SEIU is basically a healthcare workers union--hospitals and hotels have a lot more in common with factories than retail outlets do. An interesting exception is grocery stores, where UFCW represents about a quarter of all workers--far, far higher than anything else in the retail sector. My understanding is that's because the grocery industry is dominated by chains, where it's possible to negotiate chain-wide recognition agreements. UFCW is also supposed to be pretty smart about organizing, only targeting cities where they have or think they can get densities of over 60 percent.
Josh