--- title: "This CEO Says Her Union Workforce Is the Reason Her…" canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/union-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026" language: "en" author: "drashtigarach" published: "2026-04-28T13:29:10.000Z" modified: "2026-10-02T19:23:59.685Z" --- [Back to Blog](/blog) [News](/blog/tag/news)[Information](/blog/tag/information) # This CEO Says Her Union Workforce Is the Reason Her Company Wins Otis CEO Judy Marks credits her 64 percent unionized U.S. workforce for stability, retention, and shared mission as union approval hits a 68 percent high. [![Drashti Garach](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/5719d740-e510-42bc-8017-e040d145f35f_1766029465094.png)Drashti Garach @DrashtiGarach](/blog/author/drashtigarach) [April 28, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/04)Updated October 2, 202610 min read ![This CEO Says Her Union Workforce Is the Reason Her Company Wins](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/kai.uyj4ecKf.png) [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026&title=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026&title=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins)[mailto:?subject=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026](mailto:?subject=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026) Most public CEO commentary about unions ranges from cautious to combative. Otis Worldwide chair, president, and CEO Judy Marks took the opposite swing this week, telling [Fast Company](https://www.fastcompany.com/91530758/one-ceo-explains-why-she-values-her-union-workforce) that her union workforce is one of the reasons the elevator and escalator giant keeps winning. Roughly 64 percent of Otis U.S. employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, with much of the international workforce on union contracts too. For job seekers tracking employer reputation through [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com), the message lands at a moment when union approval has climbed to a 68 percent high, per [Gallup](https://news.gallup.com/) polling. ## Why this CEO bet on a union workforce Marks runs a company that designs, installs, services, and modernizes elevators and escalators across more than 200 countries and territories. That kind of footprint depends on highly skilled mechanics who can be dispatched to a hospital, a luxury tower, or a transit hub and solve a problem the same day. Training a mechanic for that work takes years, and losing one mid-career is expensive. A unionized workforce, in Marks' telling, locks in the apprenticeship pipelines and pay structures that keep those mechanics on the payroll and out of the open labor market. She framed the relationship simply. "We have a common mission," Marks said, describing the union contracts as a source of certainty in a business landscape full of supply chain swings, regulatory updates, and shifting customer demand. Long-term agreements with the [International Union of Elevator Constructors](https://www.iuec.org/) and other affiliates give Otis a multi-year planning window on labor cost, which most public companies can only dream about. That predictability matters at the boardroom level. Otis spun out of [United Technologies](https://www.rtx.com/) in 2020 and now trades independently, which means quarterly earnings discipline is non-negotiable. Marks has used the union framework as a hedge against two of the worst surprises a manufacturing CEO can face. The first is a strike triggered by years of underinvestment. The second is the slow, silent kind of attrition that drains a service business of its institutional knowledge one resignation at a time. The bet is also generational. Mechanics trained under union apprenticeships tend to stay in the trade for decades, and that stability lets Otis sell service contracts that stretch fifteen or twenty years into the future. When a building owner signs a long modernization deal, they are also buying confidence that the same crew, or one trained the same way, will still be available to service the equipment in 2040. The Otis customer base also rewards that stability. Hospital systems, transit authorities, and luxury developers do not want to retrain a new service crew every two years. They want the same technicians showing up to maintain critical equipment that moves millions of people a day. Marks has built the union model into the company's pitch, telling investors that workforce continuity is part of why Otis keeps winning competitive bids against lower-cost rivals. The math, when she lays it out, is unsentimental. Stable crews mean fewer service errors, fewer claims, and a better book of recurring revenue. ## What unionization actually does to retention and productivity The data behind Marks' position is stronger than most executives admit in public. Research compiled by the [Economic Policy Institute](https://www.epi.org/unions-collective-bargaining-resources/) finds that unionized workers stay in their jobs significantly longer than non-union peers, which sharply reduces the cost of recruiting and retraining. The [Russell Sage Foundation](https://www.rsfjournal.org/content/5/5/88) puts it plainly. When labor-management relations are cooperative, unionized workplaces tend to be more productive, not less, because lower turnover lets employers invest in deeper training and better equipment. The mechanics of that productivity boost are not mysterious. A worker who plans to stay for twenty years gets enrolled in advanced certification programs. A worker on a six-month tenure does not. Multiply that across thousands of field technicians, and the gap in skill, safety record, and customer satisfaction compounds. Otis services more than two million elevator units globally, and Marks has said publicly that customer retention and recurring service revenue are the company's most valuable assets. Both numbers depend directly on the people doing the work. There is also a softer benefit Marks tends to underscore. Union contracts force a level of communication that rarely exists in non-union workplaces. Joint safety committees, grievance procedures, and standing labor-management forums create channels where problems surface before they become quarterly losses. For a service company that touches millions of customers a year, a single safety incident can reshape the brand for a decade. Unionized shops have a structural reason to flag those risks early. The retention edge is also visible in safety data. Workplaces with active joint safety committees report fewer recordable injuries and lower workers' compensation costs over time. For a company sending technicians into shafts, machine rooms, and crowded job sites, those numbers translate directly into operating margin. The collective bargaining agreement, in that framing, is a risk-management document as much as a wage document. The [Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.htm) reported that the 2025 union membership rate held at 10.0 percent of wage and salary workers, with 14.7 million union members nationwide and another 1.8 million represented by a union without formal membership. The headline rate is flat, but in the construction, transportation, and utilities sectors that overlap with Otis' footprint, density is meaningfully higher. That concentration is part of why a unionized strategy is operationally workable for Marks even as much of the broader economy moves the other way. ## How other employers are quietly following the same playbook Marks is the most outspoken of the bunch, but she is not alone. She frames the data alongside [Costco Wholesale](https://www.costco.com/), where the [Teamsters](https://teamster.org/) cover most warehouse workers and where leadership routinely points to lower turnover and higher per-employee sales than its non-union peers. [REI](https://www.rei.com/) signed a multi-store collective agreement with the [United Food and Commercial Workers](https://www.ufcw.org/) in 2025, and the retailer has used the bargaining table as a recruiting and retention asset rather than a cost line. [Microsoft](https://news.microsoft.com/source/2023/12/11/afl-cio-and-microsoft-announce-new-tech-labor-partnership-on-ai-and-the-future-of-the-workforce/) inked a labor neutrality framework with the AFL-CIO covering its AI workforce, signaling a quiet shift in how Fortune 500 boards now treat union relationships. The shared logic across these examples is straightforward. Each company depends on hard-to-replace skills, repeat customer relationships, or both. Each leadership team has decided that fighting the workforce is more expensive than building stable agreements with it. Job seekers hunting for durable employers can use that pattern as a screening tool. Companies that resist any form of worker representation in industries where talent is scarce are often the same companies that quietly burn through staff on a two-year cycle. The financial markets are gradually catching on. Several large pension funds have started filing shareholder proposals asking portfolio companies to disclose their labor relations practices, treating high turnover and aggressive anti-union spending as governance red flags. That pressure will only grow as the workforce continues to age out of skilled trades. The [Associated General Contractors of America](https://www.agc.org/) has warned for years about a coming shortage of mechanics, electricians, and other skilled construction workers, and unionized employers tend to fill those gaps faster because their apprenticeship programs are already running. That convergence of interests is reshaping how some boards evaluate executive talent. A growing number of search committees now ask CEO candidates how they would handle a unionized division before extending an offer. Combative answers are quietly disqualifying in industries where labor relations matter most. The shift is subtle but real, and it favors leaders who, like Marks, treat workforce strategy as a core part of the operating plan rather than a problem for human resources to manage in isolation. For workers searching for their next move on [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com), the practical takeaway is that pro-union employers are no longer rare. They are still a minority, but the ones that exist tend to be more transparent about pay bands, benefits, and career ladders than their non-union counterparts. That transparency is a job seeker's friend. ## What workers should look for when evaluating union jobs Not every union job is equal. Before accepting an offer at a unionized employer, candidates should read the master agreement that covers the role. Public-sector contracts are often posted online by state labor boards, and private-sector agreements are usually available through the relevant local. The contract will spell out wage scales, benefits, overtime rules, grievance procedures, and the path to journey-level status if the role involves an apprenticeship. A few signals separate strong union employers from weak ones. First, look at the length of the current contract and whether it has been ratified recently. A long, recently ratified agreement signals stable labor-management relations. Second, check whether the employer offers a defined-benefit pension or a strong defined-contribution plan with employer match. Many union contracts still preserve pensions that have largely vanished from non-union workplaces. Third, ask about voluntary turnover among current members. Locals usually track that number and will share it. Pay attention to staffing levels and overtime patterns as well. Chronic understaffing is one of the loudest warning signs that an employer is using its contract as a floor rather than a foundation. Strong union employers staff to the contract and beyond, treating the agreement as a starting point. Weak ones treat the contract as a ceiling and run lean until grievances pile up. Look closely at how disputes get resolved. A union employer that processes grievances quickly and uses arbitration sparingly tends to have healthier day-to-day operations. Stalled grievances, frequent arbitration, and high legal spend usually point to a deteriorating relationship that will eventually surface as turnover or work stoppages. Asking a few current members about their last grievance, and how it ended, is one of the fastest ways to read the real culture of the workplace before signing on. Finally, consider the trade itself. Mechanical, electrical, transportation, and healthcare roles tend to have the most active union infrastructure and the strongest wage premiums. Public-sector roles in education, transit, and utilities are highly unionized at 32.9 percent density per [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.htm). Tech, retail, and hospitality unions are growing fast but younger, with shorter contract histories. ## People Also Asked **Q: Which CEO recently said her union workforce is the reason her company wins?** **A:** Judy Marks, the chair, president, and CEO of Otis Worldwide, told Fast Company that the company's heavily unionized workforce gives Otis a shared mission and operational stability that competitors struggle to match. **Q: How much of Otis Worldwide is unionized?** **A:** Roughly 64 percent of Otis U.S. employees work under collective bargaining agreements, and much of the company's international workforce is also covered by union contracts according to the Fast Company profile. **Q: What is the current U.S. union membership rate?** **A:** The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the union membership rate held at 10.0 percent of wage and salary workers in 2025, representing about 14.7 million union members nationwide. ## Get the inside scoop Want to know which employers actually treat their workforce like a competitive advantage and which ones just say it on earnings calls? [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) tracks the leadership signals, contract news, and hiring patterns that tell the real story. Get the inside scoop on union-friendly employers, pay transparency leaders, and the companies quietly building the next generation of stable jobs. [Sign up](https://www.metaintro.com/signup) to follow the CEOs and companies setting the pace, and decide for yourself which leaders are worth your career. ### Share this article [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026&title=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026&title=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins)[mailto:?subject=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026](mailto:?subject=This%20CEO%20Says%20Her%20Union%20Workforce%20Is%20the%20Reason%20Her%20Company%20Wins&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Funion-workforce-ceo-advantage-2026) For job seekers ## The job you want exists. We’ll find it. No more scrolling job boards. Get matched roles by text, with the pay and the reason they fit. [Get Started Free](/signup)[Search matching jobs](/jobs/search) - MatchCompare live roles against your current evidence. - PositionTurn proof projects into role-specific applications. - ImproveUse market feedback to keep the skill plan current. [Return to navigation](#main-navigation)