30227 - A Bottom-Up Union Revival?

Description

Though union density numbers do not indicate that labor has yet turned around its decades of retreat, it is clear that workers and labor unions in the US do have wind in their sails. From the unionization breakthroughs at major corporations like Starbucks to the ambitious strikes and union drives of the United Auto Workers across the South, the labor movement is wresting high profile wins and generating a high degree of publicity as well as momentum. And on a local level, a slew of struggles in a wide range of industries and services similarly testify to a new mood of bottom-up worker assertiveness.

Can this labor uptick turn into lasting labor revitalization? What are the main lessons of recent struggles for other unions and movements interested in following suit? And what does this all mean for the struggle for economic and racial justice in the US?

Sub Unit

• Thematic Session

Presider

• Barry Eidlin, McGill University

Panelists

• Ruth Milkman, CUNY-Graduate Center

• Casey Moore, Starbucks Workers United

• Michelle Valentin Nieves, Amazon Labor Union

• Eric Benjamin Blanc, Rutgers University

• Barry Eidlin, McGill University

• Scott Houldieson, UAW Local 551

Session Organizers

• Barry Eidlin, McGill University

• Eric Benjamin Blanc, Rutgers University