Organization Efforts Falling Short

CHINO HILLS, CA

The California Landscape & Irrigation Council (CLIC) has reported that despite a high-profile campaign by the nation's top labor leaders over the past two years to revitalize America's unions, efforts to recruit new members have yet to pay off in a significant way. According to the CLIC, federal figures show that union recruiting has risen only modestly during the governmental fiscal year; those recruiting gains appear too small to keep pace with the growth of the overall work force to offset job losses in traditional union industries, like landscape. Organized labor needs to recruit an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 members every year to maintain its 14.5% share of the work force. It appears to be falling short of that target.