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The New Workers, and New Militancy, of the Seventies

Justin Miller The American Prospect
During the 1970s women and people of color were organizing their workplaces at impressive rates — they just weren’t winning. Lane Windham in her new book recounts that history and its consequences.

Janus: A New Attack Presents Old Challenges for Unions

Justin Miller The American Prospect
There’s a new case against public-sector unions headed to the Supreme Court. But the challenges it presents are anything but new. The Janus v. AFSCME case just the latest in a in a long line of right-wing funded attacks on labor unions—but it would be a big one. And, yet again, the expectation of a unfavorable ruling has renewed a urgent debate about not only how public-sector unions should prepare but whether they should radically change their missions.

Unions Stake Out Positions in Battle for DNC Chair

Justin Miller The American Prospect
In the face of Trump and the GOP’s likely nationwide attack on unions, labor leaders are scrambling to ensure that they have a hand in reshaping a Democratic Party that has, as union power has diminished, sometimes pushed organized labor to the margins. Union members make up about 100 of the roughly 447 voting members of the Democratic National Committee, making union support a major factor in the race for DNC chair.

Unions Flex Political Muscle at the Democratic National Convention -- But Uber and Airbnb Lurk

Justin Miller The American Prospect
The labor movement's agenda was on full display at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Union delegates numbered roughly one-quarter of the convention’s 4,000-plus delegates. Still, there were stark reminders that labor has struggled to keep at bay the party’s coziness with corporations, especially those of the Silicon Valley disruption variety. Ride-hailing giant Uber—not unionized taxi cabs—served as the DNC’s exclusive shuttle service.

Labour Goes South

Justin Miller The American Prospect (Winter Issue 2016)
Can the movement rebuild itself below the Mason-Dixon line, and change Southern politics in the process?