Power and Voice at Work: New Yorkers View Employer Retaliation as a Barrier to Addressing Workplace Problems and Express Desire for Union Representation

In New York as elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of workers’ ability to raise workplace concerns without employer reprisal.[i] Being able to speak up carries critical implications for worker health and safety, freedom from discrimination, and other matters of basic wellbeing.[ii] Even in the midst of a health and economic crisis, workers around the country mobilized individually and collectively around a range of issues, including premium pay and stronger workplace protections.[iii] Too often, however, employers continue to punish workers for raising workplace concerns.[iv]

Data from the national Just Recovery Survey (n=3,100), which oversampled working New Yorkers (n=324), provides insight into how New Yorkers compare to the rest of the country with regard to perceptions of possible of employer retaliation for raising concerns about workplace safety and sexual harassment.[v] It also shows how working New Yorkers compare to their counterparts elsewhere with respect to interest in a specific kind of vehicle for workplace collective action: forming a union.

Forty-seven percent of working New Yorkers reported that potential employer retaliation could prevent them from refusing to work in unsafe conditions, as compared to 37% of workers in the rest of the country.

Key Findings

• Workers in New York are more likely than those in the rest of the country to report that they perceive employer retaliation to be a significant barrier preventing them from freely expressing concerns related to workplace health and safety. Forty-seven percent of working New Yorkers reported that potential employer retaliation could prevent them from refusing to work in unsafe conditions, as compared to 37% of workers in the rest of the country. Thirty-four percent reported that potential employer retaliation could prevent them from raising concerns about unsafe working conditions, as compared to 25% in the rest of the country.
• Workers in New York are more likely than those in the rest of the country to feel pressure to refrain from reporting workplace sexual harassment to avoid employer retaliation. Thirty-four percent of working New Yorkers reported that potential employer retaliation could prevent them from reporting workplace sexual harassment, as compared to 25% in the rest of the country.
• Workers in New York express a higher level of interest in joining a labor union than those in the rest of the country. Of workers who don’t currently belong to a labor union, 57% of working New Yorkers stated that they would like to join a union, as compared to 45% in the rest of the country.
• Nationally, Black workers are more likely than other workers to report potential employer retaliation as a barrier to taking action against unsafe working conditions.[vi]
• U.S. workers who perceived retaliation to be a barrier are more likely to want to organize with co-workers in a union, suggesting that workers view unionization as a means to bolster their voice and power to speak up about workplace issues that arise.

Building on these results, this brief concludes by drawing some implications for efforts to expand worker voice as part of a just and worker-centered recovery.

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Endnotes

[i] This survey study was conducted with the support of funds from New York State. The opinions, results, findings, and interpretations of data contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions, interpretations, or policy of the State.

[ii] Berkowitz, Debbie and Shayla Thompson. “OSHA Must Protect COVID Whistleblowers Who File Retaliation Complaints.” National Employment Law Project. October 2020. Accessed August 2, 2021,  https://www.nelp.org/publication/osha-failed-protect-whistleblowers-filed-covid retaliation-complaints/

[iii] Abrams, Abigail. “The Challenges Posed by COVID-19 Pushed Many Workers to Strike. Will the Labor Movement See Sustained Interest?” Time Magazine. January 17, 2021.  Accessed July 31, 2021.  https://time.com/5928528/frontline-workers-strikes-labor/

[iv] Tung, Irene and Laura Padin. “Silenced About COVID-19 in the Workplace.” National Employment Law Project. June 2020. Accessed August 2, 2021,  https://www.nelp.org/publication/silenced-covid-19-workplace/.

[v] The survey question included the following examples of retaliation: “being fired of experiencing unfavorable changes in assignments, promotions, hours, or pay.”

[vi] For the purposes of this survey, the descriptor “Black” respondents refer to respondents that self-identified as “Black” and “non-Hispanic.” “Latinx” includes respondents who self-identified as “Hispanic” and “White” or “Hispanic” with an unspecified race.