> Perhaps the idea of "traditional organizing" that many have is a false
> one that has never worked in history.
>
> 1. Unions in the North grew the fastest not through "traditional
> organizing" under normal circumstances but through wartime labor
> shortages and labor unions' wartime cooperation with states during WW1
> and elections of pro-labor governments from the Great Depression to
> WW2:
Excellent point. I was just starting to write about "traditional organizing" and the modern labor movement -- growth both before and after the Wagner Act in the mid 30s, loss of much of this growth during the Roosevelt Recession, then explosion in membership during WWII, with the no-strike/union security trade-off under the War Labor Board -- before I told myself I had to go back to work.
Also, don't have any figures at hand but much (probably most) of labor's growth during the middle of 20th century was due to accretion -- labor organizing a dynamic and growing sector such as auto, then adding more members as the sector grows in size and employment.