#union #iww #ows #occupy #p2 #p21 #tlot #tcot Why California Is a Pro-Union State (Sort Of) http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/In-The-States/Why-California-Is-a-Pro-Union-State-Sort-Of Ask Los Angeles Times reporter Alana Semuels why union membership in California rose by 100,000 in 2012, and she’ll give you a simple answer: “Latino workers.” To explain the contrast between the trend in California and the United States as a whole—where union membership dropped last year by 400,000—Semuels turned to some credible sources, including Steve Smith of the state labor federation who cited “an appetite among these low-wage workers to try to get a collective voice to give themselves opportunity and a middle-class lifestyle.”