[lbo-talk] Unions: Resuscitate or pull the plug?

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Fri Mar 10 06:55:50 PST 2006


Guest:
> most union members are not the sort of people you like
> but as bad as they are, unions are all us workers have
> right now.

This is not necessarily true. Actually, most workers, 87.5% to be exact, do not "have" unions. Furthermore, it is possible that other organizational forms - anything from professional associations to civic associations or social movements - may have a broader effect i.e. on a larger share of the employed population than the US unions do.

To avoid any misunderstandings, I am firmly pro union and pro-organized labor. The reason I posted this question was to collectively come with some good arguments that can be used to counter the relentless right-wing attacks on the remaining Left institutions. Avoiding such questions and telling people to toe-in the party line because there is no alternative does not strike me as a winning strategy.

Wojtek



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