ON THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN LABOR

Abstract

There is now a vigorous debate, in the era of labor's decline, concerning the future of the American unions. Some have argued that revitalization requires the replacement of the so‐called service model of unionism which focuses mainly on meeting the needs of existing members by an “organizing” model that emphasizes expanding membership. This article argues that, even if organizing is important, the main problem is that unions have remained subordinate to capital and to the Democratic Party. Unions need to regain their independence, but the top leaders are probably not capable of reversing the transformation of members into clients. What is needed is an independent labor‐oriented catalyst that raises the question of the democratization of the labor movement, chiefly from the bottom.

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