A small group of IKEA workers in suburban Boston launched a union organizing campaign this week—and immediately attracted the support of Democratic Party presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley.
Jane McAlevey on Fight for 15, labor’s crisis of strategy, and the difference between organizing and mobilizing.
America's unions have been in retreat for decades - but can history point toward some fresh starts? Steve Fraser's book The Age of Acquiescence reminds us that America's worker movement-100 years ago-was a rather militant creature compared to today. Then, it was worker militias, "bread and roses," and unabashed class conflict; now, it's defense and dwindling membership, and disappointing Democrats. How did we get here? Is there still power in a union?
"Our survival is our success.” Retiring UE Director Organization Bob Kingsley told Convention delegates. He credited UE’s survival to its “four pillars: aggressive struggle against the boss, a never-ending effort to organize the unorganzied, independent political action and international labor solidarity.
The Super Bowl commercial you didn't see. The Black Panther Party: Vanguard of the Revolution. The worst trade deal you never heard of. A true story of fast food, immigration and justice. Diane Nash: A Bio.
Unions historically have supported minimum wage and occupational safety laws that benefited all workers, not just their members. But they also have recently begun investing major resources in organizing drives more likely to yield new laws than new members. Some of these campaigns seek to organize workers who, rightly or wrongly, aren't even designated as employees or lack a common employer, such as domestic workers and cab drivers.
“We want democracy, but we don’t have the theory or skill to do it”
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