It's a tough time for unions in the age of Trump — cities and states can help

On Labor Day, it's worth considering: how can we bolster unions in the U.S.? Unions have a better public image today than they have in generations. Yet because of fierce corporate opposition and weak federal laws, the share of workers who are union members is way down — around 10 percent of workers nationwide. Workers themselves have always led the way in building collective power, but laws and government shape the landscape. It's nice when political leaders attend a Labor Day picnic or parade, and it's moving when they wax eloquent about the dignity of work. But right now, we need so much more. Sadly, the Trump administration is taking a bat to workers' rights, reducing wage theft enforcement, shrinking the Department of Labor and weakening the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces workers' right to unionize. With Washington hostile and the Supreme Court's right-wing majority averse to working people, that leaves cities and states. Some Democratic state leaders have betrayed working people, but many others are trying mightily. Unfortunately, federal law sharply limits their ability to regulate labor relations. New York learned this in July when a federal court blocked a new law granting additional power to the state in this area. The needle-threading maneuver, then, is for state and local governments to find ways to boost unionization that won't get slapped down in federal court. Plenty of labor experts have proposed creative and innovative ideas. Here's a new one: a deceptively simple, under-the-radar idea that requires no legislation and costs almost nothing. State and local governments can help people unionize by simply helping to organize workers. Specifically, they can host meetups between workers and local unions, and they can teach the public about unions. For starters, do you know how you would form a union in your workplace? Most people have no idea. Perhaps the most important move is just to bring workers and unions together. State and local officials could, as a form of constituent services, host hometown gatherings between workers and local unions. Worker centers and groups like the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee could be included, too. Government does this kind of thing — connecting constituents with community resources — all the time. Think about health and wellness fairs, for example, or job fairs that connect employers and job seekers. Imagine if New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani or Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) personally hosted a monthly or quarterly union fair, where local unions and potential new members could meet up, organized by neighborhood or industry. Between fairs, government staffers could connect workers interested in unionizing with appropriate contacts at unions in their industry. The beauty of this approach is that you don't have to be a governor or a mayor to do it. You don't need to be nationally known, wildly popular or even particularly charismatic. A union fair could be held by city council members, state legislators, county commissioners or a state labor secretary. All you need is warm coffee, stale pastries, a space to meet, and some good old-fashioned organizing chops. State and local governments can also educate workers about unionizing. People typically know little about workplace rights, and even popular culture has a void. When is the last time you saw a TV show featuring a union campaign? I can think of just one — thank you, 'Superstore.' California and New Jersey have passed laws requiring workers' rights education in public high schools. Cities and states could do this as well. They could also include local union contact information (with permission) on government websites, with descriptions of whom the unions serve, just as government websites often link to nonprofits and organizations that serve the community. State and local governments could run public service ad campaigns, with QR codes linking to more information, or to surveys about people's working conditions. Agencies can also use existing touchpoints: job seekers are ideally situated to receive know-your-rights information, as well as workers filing wage theft complaints. To be sure, even these simple proposals will meet resistance. Some Chamber of Commerce somewhere will make a fuss if a mayor organizes a meetup with unions, or if a state labor department posts 'how to form a union' on its website. They will say it is biased or unfair, even though business interests already have vastly disproportionate access to government leaders. They might even sue. But educating workers and organizing meetups aren't the kind of 'regulation' preempted by federal labor law. What would corporate opponents argue in court? That they're legally entitled to employees who are unaware of their rights and have never talked with a union representative? Even worker-hostile states couldn't stop local government from this kind of action: educating people about their rights is a matter of free speech, and meetups involve the right of assembly. Opposition could also arise among well-intentioned public servants worried that this involves government inappropriately taking sides. But business interests already have disproportionate access to government at all levels. And civil society organizations civil society organizations, including organized labor, are a bedrock of strong democracies. Remember, unions don't just help members; they reduce income inequality, improve mobility for members' children and increase civic participation. Even with their current low density, unions are the largest civil society player standing up, at scale, for all of us who don't belong to the ultra-wealthy class. The current crisis on labor rights calls for a multi-faceted approach. Some states, most recently Oregon and Washington, allow striking workers to receive unemployment insurance. Several states have created three-party boards giving unions and workers a seat at the table in establishing rules for a whole industry. We need all of this and more. But sometimes, untapped potential lies right under our noses. So say yes to Labor Day picnics and barbeques and parades. But also say yes to building more and stronger unions. Even without passing new laws, state and local governments can do this by, quite simply, helping workers organize. Terri Gerstein is the director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative at NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.