It has been a busy year for the organized labor movement. Major strikes in the movie and television industries have brought those enterprises to a standstill when it comes to producing new content. And one of the most powerful unions in the U.S., the United Auto Workers (UAW), is planning to strike unless auto manufacturers meet their demands by the end of this month.

These assertive moves by unions can be seen as part of a larger story: Workers in the United States, post-pandemic, have sensed a shift in the balance of power between employer and employee. In the benefits world, it has been clear that employers are willing to make adjustments to find and keep quality employees, and the pandemic made it clear that even for the most basic services, the lack of workers can be devastating, not just for individual companies, but for the economy as a whole.