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A Strategy to Build Labor Power

Luke Elliott-Negri Jacobin
At its core, a fighting labor movement must take on the boss directly, winning fights both big and small that transform life for workers. This should not be in dispute, and it is why socialists have traditionally salted union and non-union shops.

Ed Sadlowski: September 10, 1938- June 10, 2018

Ruth Needleman Portside
Ed Sadlowski was the leader of Fight Back in Steel, a rank-and-file movement that challenged an entrenched union leadership in the 1970s. Although narrowly defeated, the caucus was a model of grassroots democracy and helped change the USWA.

labor

The Rank and File's Paper of Record

Kim Moody Jacobin
The history of Labor Notes shows that labor's strength -- and socialists' relevance -- depend on a militant and independent rank and file.

Successful Labor Struggles Celebrated at Labor Notes - No April Fooling; Labor for Bernie and Beyond

Judy Atkins; Dan La Botz
The speakers and the workshops at the Labor Notes conference celebrated labor's new potential both in fighting the boss and becoming more active in pro-worker electoral struggles. The 2,000 or more participants overfilled the Hilton Hotel and spread out into two other nearby venues. The young workers definitely outnumbered those with more seniority at these kind of events, and the diversity of participants was great. Special reports by Judy Atkins and Dan La Botz.

books

Can "Solidarity Unionism" Save the Labor Movement?

Eric Dirnbach Waging Nonviolence
In any case, union contracts and the working conditions they codify are the current compromise between labor and capital in any given workplace. With or without a contract, workers will have to struggle. Staughton Lynd doesn't seem to consider the possibility that some workers may not be looking for constant class warfare on the job, and that settling a decent contract offers a much needed respite to lock-in gains.

labor

A Practical Solution to an Urgent Need

Gregg Shotwell Monthly Review
Gregg Shotwell is a retired UAW member who frequently contributes poems to the Blue Collar Review, and is the author of Autoworkers Under the Gun (Haymarket Press, 2012).
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