(Bloomberg) -- The growing number of labor strikes by workers across the U.S. from nurses to Deere & Co. staff shows that employees are “fed up”, according to the president of the largest U.S. trade-union federation.
“We're seeing workers fed up all over this country,” Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's “Balance of Power” with David Westin Friday. “The sacrifices they've made aren't being recognized and appreciated.”
Shuler spoke following Labor Department data showing a record 4.4 million people quit their job in September while openings for positions remain elevated. Meanwhile, payrolls remain about 4 million short of the pre-pandemic level, showing that many Americans are remaining on the sidelines of the labor market or have left for good.
That's created a problem for companies, many of which can't find enough workers or have to pay up for those roles. Schuler said it isn't a lack of jobs that's the problem, but a lack of quality positions.
“There's a shortage of good-paying -- and we would say -- union jobs,” she said.
Read more: Starbucks Union Vote Sets Up a Watershed Moment for U.S. Labor
Meanwhile, workers are leveraging their newfound power. Starbucks Corp., Deere and Kaiser Permanente are among companies facing labor action. More than 100,000 U.S. workers are on strike or threatening one.
“When you rise up and demand more, you can make change,” Shuler said.
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