private-sector workers belong to unions today, a sliver of the 35% that were union members in 1953. While pickets lines seem to be everywhere this year, union membership rates have been declining for decades. UNION RATES HAVE BEEN FALLING FOR DECADES. The writers union also applauded SAG-AFTRA’s tentative agreement Wednesday. The studios and Writers Guild of America reached a deal that brought their strike, which began two months prior to the actors’ work stoppage, to an end back in September. The simutaneous strikes “increased the power of both unions,” Litwin added - pointing to actors and writers supporting each other on picket lines. Within the entertainment industry, that included the writers strike - marking the first time the two unions had been on strike together since 1960. Leaders of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists treated the actors strike as a watershed moment from the start, coming as it did amid wider labor fights across work sectors.
