Writing
Organizers with substantial, direct experience in the field have an entirely different focus than authors who have not been involved in campaigns: we focus on how the work gets done (methods), and how to win.

Drivers demand job security and livable incomes at a protest at Uber and Lyft’s New York City headquarters in May 2019

Silicon Valley’s Offer of Sectoral Bargaining Is a Trick: If national union leaders acquiesce to the creation of a third category of worker in exchange for sectoral bargaining, collective begging will replace collective bargaining.

There is a massive power play taking place right now, being led by some of the biggest titans of industry—particularly in Silicon Valley—who seek to avoid having to contribute to society at all by rewriting the legal status of their workers. The current debate about who is a worker, who is an independent contractor, and who is legally eligible for things like Social Security and unemployment insurance centers around the question of whether state and federal policy makers accept or reject what is referred to as a “third category” of worker. Read More

Arizona teachers march in Phoenix

Why Unions Must Recommit to Expanding Their Base: Demobilizing our base is never a good idea, especially when the right wing and the Trump forces continue to mobilize

Unions need to expand their base if Democrats are to stand any real chance in the future; simultaneously, they need to provide deep political education. Joe Biden’s platform for the economy, part of his Build Back Better plan, would substantially advance the quality of life among the multiracial working class—but the prospect of getting any of those proposals through the Senate, no matter the outcome in Georgia’s runoff elections, isn’t realistic. Read More

May Day protest in Greece

Celebrating May Day Starts by Taking Workers Seriously: Here in the United States, workers need a lot more than another holiday.

“…here in the United States, the date is barely known beyond those immigrants whose home countries honor it, or among the most committed labor activists. Yet May Day commemorates the lives of four labor organizers in the United States who were hanged in Chicago after being falsely convicted of throwing a bomb into a group of police.” Read More

A Collective Bargain by Jane_McAlevey book cover

Why Unions Matter – Excerpt from A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy: Unions, we may finally be coming to realize, are absolutely essential to democracy.

Unions are such a pain in the ass really. Anyone who has dealt with a union understands. Then again, so is trying to get through to customer service at your bank, or the warranty division of a company that made one of your household appliances. Unions can be bureaucratic and hard to navigate in the same way dealing with the permit process to build a house or a building, or opening a childcare centre is. Read More