Larry Cohen argues that the labor movement should seek power not solely in individual workplaces but in entire industries, while Eric Blanc writes that the priority should be unionizing workplaces.
How unions can fight back.
Last year, the union membership rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 10.1% — the lowest on record. The absolute number of American workers in unions did grow in 2022 — by approximately 200,000. But the number of non-union jobs grew faster.
Today, on Presidents’ Day, we rightly celebrate Abraham Lincoln for helping end slavery. But we shouldn’t forget the unstoppable force that also brought down the Slave Power: the several million slaves who left the plantation, many of whom joined the Union Army.
Amid the upsurge of successful union representation elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, workers are still struggling to secure their first contracts—and real change in the workplace.
Two key questions confront labor: should unions focus on organizing workers with major strategic leverage in the economy? Or should they welcome any workers willing to fight, since that organizing can constitute a major catalyst for other workers?
If properly enforced, just cause protections would give all workers more security to stand up to dangerous working conditions, sexual harassment, bullying, speed-up, and wage theft.
“The US labor movement is largely unprepared for—if not downright skittish about—taking up the question of how to contest a fundamental assault on democracy.”
The judiciary committee voted not to advance the nomination of Hector LaSalle, setting up a likely legal fight between the governor and state Democrats. Gov. Hochul threated to hire a litigator to sue the State Senate to take up the nomination.
Democrats likely to defeat Dem. Governor Hochul’s nomination of Hector LaSalle to be the state’s next chief judge, after progressives raised concern about his conservative judicial record and anti-abortion, anti-labor and anti-bail reform positions.
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