Portside

Most liberals continue to pay lip service to unions and their importance to the Democratic coalition. But in private, many will tell you that they have little use for them. Julian Zelizer, a Princeton political economist, argues that the marriage between liberalism and organized labor “took a terrible turn starting in the 1970s,” when global competition moved manufacturing jobs from the unionized Northeast and Midwest to the non-union South and, ultimately, abroad.

A new report suggests that union membership has increased in New York City and State, particularly in the private sector.

Virtually all labor organizations face the expanded challenge of recruiting and maintaining members in already unionized workplaces where the decision to provide financial support for the union has, for better or worse, become voluntary.

Two provocative articles on our upcoming Labor Day, by Bill Fletcher and Maynard Seider

Trade union delegates to the US-Africa summit stressed that economic ties and growth are not enough. They stressed that there needs to be "a more complex view of development," that addresses the issue of growing inequality. As an example, delegates noted that it is not enough to talk about job creation, attention must also be paid to the kind of jobs being created.

27,000 home health care workers vote to unionize and join the Service Employees International Union. This is one of the largest organizing efforts in Minnesota since the great depression.

Many of the 112,000 active educators and school workers in the Michigan Education Association can now leave the union and stop paying fees under a state law that took effect last year. Other major unions, covered by multi-year contracts, won't reach the opt-out point until 2015 or later.

The United Federation of Teachers and healthcare union SEIU 1199 were among the New York organizations that endorsed an August 23 march against police brutality in Staten Island. The march demanded justice for Eric Garner, a Staten Island resident killed while placed in a police chokehold last month.

The tentative agreement reached between the ILWU and the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association (PNGHA) would impose a major reduction in working conditions and shop floor power, including the loss of the union controlled hiring hall, and no overtime pay until after 12 hours. The agreement would prevent work stoppages because it would allow the employer the right to use its own managers to replace union workers during work stoppages.

Portside Labor Readers Comments on, Without Tenure; International Support Enables Victory of Egyptian Union; Ruling Says McDonald's Is Liable for Workers; Article Interview With Cleo Silvers (When the Union's the Enemy: An Interview with Cleo Silvers)