[lbo-talk] blog post: radical labor education, part 5: a new labor movement?

Wojtek S wsoko52 at gmail.com
Thu Mar 10 06:10:00 PST 2011


Dissenting Wren: "Sustaining a public, militant presence is going to be trickier. At Tahrir Square there was a simple, direct demand that kept the demonstrations focused. In WI up until now there has been a similar focus. But with the bill now passed, what focuses the street presence and keeps up the pressure?"

[WS:] Good question, indeed. Direct action, even if effective, is only temporary. It is not possible to keep people out in the streets all the time, but even if it were, the "marginal utility" of this sustained protest would diminish if not altogether disappear. That is why institutional support is essential. The pro-business side obviously has it and that explains why they are so successful, but for the pro-labor side, it is a bit different story.

If I were to name institutions that are actually pro-labor, the list would be awfully short: the unions (which are an endangered species), a few minor think tanks, and a few marginal media outlets. Add to it a few other that are potentially pro-labor, such as a few progressive churches or nonprofits and that is about it. The common trait of these institutions is that they do not generate any income to sustain its operations, but rather depend on outside sources, such as membership dues and donations, which are essentially a form of philanthropy - no match against the well oiled money machine maintained by business interests.


>From that point of view, is the "pressure" is to be sustained, it
requires expanding institutional base. This entails two things - building a network of pro-labor organizations (e.g. something along the lines of Progressive Maryland http://www.progressivemaryland.org/page.php?id=268) and generating sustainable financial support that does not rely on philanthropy. The literature on Third World NGOs and development provide a range of solutions (just Google self sustaining NGOs). Most of it has been poo-poohed by self-styled radicals as a "bandaid solution" to poverty and economic development. Th epoint however, is that while this may indeed be a drop in bucket vis a vis what is needed for economic development, it may be enough to finance efforts designed to "leverage" government support of pro-labor initiatives.

Wojtek



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