(Source: MIRS.news, Published 06/14/2024) For one union representing grocery stackers, cashiers and food packers in West Michigan, its youngest members are 15 years old. Its teenage members pay into the same union dues structure as the older union members, and leadership prepares itself for talks with parents.  

According to data released by Statista data platform, 4.4 percent of American union members were 16 to 24 years old, and the largest age group at 12.6 percent was union members aged 45 to 54. 

It's been less than two years since the Michigan legislature repealed the Right-to-Work statute that was put in place under Gov. Rick Snyder. That means mandatory union contributions can be charged for union representation during private-sector contract negotiations.  

One could ask: is a 15-year-old mature enough to commit to union membership, and the financial and political components affiliated with it?  

From the other side of the debate, one could view union participation by youths as a way to ramp up protection for young employees in the workforce, as well as wage and benefit parity between minors and adults.  

"Some of my best union leaders, in my stores in my career, have been young people, because young people have the energy and desire to support each other and support their coworkers," said Courtney Phillips, secretary-treasurer of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 951. "I think…having a good understanding as a young person of what it is you're signing up for, and what union membership means, is super valuable, and can be a really good opportunity for them to stretch their leadership legs."  

Phillips spoke to MIRS during the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island.  

The UFCW Local 951 includes more than 29,000 workers in the state, negotiating contracts with employers like Rite Aid, Kroger supermarkets and Meijer Inc.  

Last year, UFCW Local 951 was one of multiple labor organizations advocating for the repeal of Michigan's Right-to-Work statute.  

The policy change was led by Democratic legislators, and signed by the Governor in March 2023, making Michigan the earliest state to revoke a Right-to-Work law since such statutes first became permitted under the federal Labor Management Relations Act, or the Taft-Hartley Act, in 1947.  

The Right-to-Work repeal in Michigan became effective on Feb. 13 of this year, having its most direct impact on private-sector workplaces. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has maintained its 2018 ruling that mandatory union fees on public-sector employees violate their First Amendment right to free speech.  

As a player in private-sector contract negotiations, Phillips said that for young people, the UFCW Local 951 calls for contracts that "don't include minor wages."  

"If you're a minor in the state of Michigan, an employer can pay you less money to do the same work as someone who's 18 years old," Phillips said, explaining how her organization tries to ensure minor employees get the same guarantees as their adult counterparts. "No matter what…they get paid time off. They get adult wages. They get everything the same, and I think that's really powerful for a young person to know that, 'hey, your time is just as valuable as everybody else's to do the same work."  

For Phillips' own son, he became a union member at 15 years old as well.  

She explained that for the UFCW Local 951, the dues structure equates to less than one hour of work per week. She said if a worker takes four paid 15-minute breaks in one week, "you've paid for your dues, essentially, through that process."  

"There have been parents who have called or reached out to have further dialogue, but I think at the end of the conversation, we're typically leaving in a very positive space, because it is about educating – it is about understanding," Phillips said. "I think, on the west side of the state, where we are kind of situated, there is a lot of that misunderstanding or lack of knowledge, (compared) to the east side of the state."  

In May, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) released a forecast that from June through August, 247,600 teens were expected to seek summer employment, with the teen unemployment rate in Michigan dropping from 13.7 percent last year to 11.6 percent for this summer.  

As nearly one in three Americans have their first-ever job at a restaurant, Justin Winslow, President of the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (MRLA), views the concept of teenage dues-paying union members as "a dangerous proposition." 

"It's where you learn the tricks of the trade. You learn responsibility. I do think if you're going to over-regulate that side of the equation, you're going to lose those opportunities," Winslow told MIRS in late May. "If this industry isn't doing some of that front-line training, where are you going to get it? And I get a little concerned about diminished opportunities, even if it was well intended."  

Winslow added that the number of young people in Michigan's restaurant and hospitality industry is going down, "because we have fewer young people in the state of Michigan. Frankly, that's a bigger problem that I believe we're all trying to talk about here."  

According to the Pew Research Center in June 2022, 36.2 percent of employed 16 to 19 year-olds in the United States were in the accommodation and food services industry, including restaurants, snack shacks and resorts. The industry accounted for 41 of every 100 newly generated teen jobs between summer 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, 21.3 percent of teenage workers in the country were in the retail trade sector, 8.1 percent were in arts, entertainment and recreation and 4 percent were in manufacturing.