Labor leaders at the Labor Notes conference expressed hope that the prominent unionization activity taking place across various industries is more than just a blip. The 4000 attendees at the June conference were a mix of grassroots activists and labor union supporters, who opined that the pandemic and the anti-police protests in 2020 have resulted in workers that are no longer afraid of the word "union" and who are increasingly assertive towards their employers in obtaining better working conditions, a behavior that has not been seen in decades. Interest in the labor movement had declined since the 1980s and only in the last two years has there a resurgence in union organizing, leading to strikes in the private sector, such as "Striketober" last fall at Kelloggs, Nabisco, and John Deere. According to Gallup, union popularity is at its highest since 1965.
See "Labor leaders hope revived union interest is a lasting upsurge ", Teddy Ostrow, DW, June 23, 2022