Welcome to Getting Curious. I'm Jonathan Vaness and every week I sit down for a 40-minute

conversation with a brilliant expert to learn all about something that makes me curious.

This week, we're re-releasing an episode from 2018 with Rebecca Given, an associate

professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University where I ask her.

Are unions a good bargain?

Welcome to Getting Curious. This is Jonathan Vaness. I'm very excited this week because

we're hearing so much right now about trade unions. I feel like over my life, I've heard a lot

about unions. I think Jimmy Hatha. I think, I think, Mob. I don't know what a union is. I'm

millennial. So I brought an amazing professor. You're full of knowledge. Rebecca Given, right?

Yeah. I nailed it. I nailed it. I think I did and put too much emphasis on the

Van parts. Give on. It's just Given. I love that. What do you want me to call you? Professor

Given, you want me to call you Rebecca? Rebecca. Okay. Rebecca, welcome. Thank you.

Thank you so much for coming. So unions, what are they? Are they something from the 40s?

Are they why does the Supreme Court seem to hate them? What's going on?

Those are great questions. Unions were actually at their biggest in the 40s. So you're

totally right to wonder if they're something from the 40s. They also have this funny

reputation throughout our history where people think Jimmy Hatha or maybe they think of auto

workers in Michigan from 50 years ago. But there are still about 15 million Americans in unions.

More than one in 10 of us workers are in unions. And at the most basic level, unions are just

groups of working people who come together to speak in one voice because they can speak more

effectively when they go to their bosses for something together than if you as an individual

go to your boss and say, you know, I'm really struggling to get by. I need a raise or I noticed

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