(excerpts…) Organizing is not an art of telling people what to do, McAlevey explains, but of listening for what they cannot abide… McAlevey has become not just an expert organizer but a social scientist of organizing’s methodology. She has written four books that have become touchstones for a new generation of labor leaders. Read More
Jane McAlevey talks with Gordon Lafer and Adolph Reed Jr. about the impact of negotiations as political education, for building strong unions and for rebuilding democracy. Listen here >> Read More
Jane McAlevey’s quote in the article states the case clearly: Some advocates believe that focusing on building union power through worker organizing, rather than first seeking policy changes, holds the key to reversing the decline of union density. Jane McAlevey, a senior policy fellow of with the Labor Center at the University of California, Berkeley, puts the problem with union strategy bluntly: “It’s a lack of ambition and it’s risk aversion, but fundamentally, it’s a lack of faith in workers.” Read More
[NOTE that the actual conversation begins at minute 14:50] Nelson Lichtenstein and I had a conversation online the evening of November 29th. We discussed the history of the UAW first, as he is a top expert on the union and Walter Reuther, and then brought that history forward to inform the current strike by UAW – UC workers (I am one of the 48,000 on strike!). Read More
Sam and Emma host Jane McAlevey, Senior Policy Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Labor Center, to discuss her recent video for The Nation “You Voted To Form A Union. Now What?” Then they are joined by T.J. Kitchen, Organizing Director for the Teamsters Joint Council #43, to discuss the recent organizing efforts at a Chipotle franchise in Lansing, Michigan. Read More