On Feb. 6, 1919, half of Seattle’s workforce went on strike over a demand for higher wages. A labor historian explains why it matters 100 years later.
Articles on Labor power
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The Janus decision by the Supreme Court is a serious legal and financial blow to unions and their hundreds of thousands of members. But it will not kill public-employee unions or teachers’ unions.
The holiday began as a strike against excessive workweeks but now bears little resemblance to its worker-centric origins, even as the founders’ gains are slowly lost.
Thwarted efforts to organize at Yale and a New York nursing home show how a changing of the guard at the National Labor Relations Board could potentially end the labor movement.
Labor’s decline has steadily eroded the prospects of working-class Americans, fueling the backlash that propelled Trump. His election, however, will likely deliver unions a knockout punch, hurting his supporters most.
Whether you’re spending the holiday shopping for bargains, barbecuing with friends or striking for better pay, here are a few Labor Day highlights from our labor experts.
The link between labor’s decline and stagnating worker pay has convinced some politicians that we need to rebuild unions. What we need are new labor policies for tomorrow’s workforce.
Donald Trump has emerged as a self-proclaimed hero of the working class, yet his policies and pedigree suggest he’s anything but.
Presidential candidates are using voter anger to fuel more divisions and discord rather than to start a conversation about the collapse of collective bargaining.
A case before the Supreme Court could deal a major blow to unions, highlighting the need for leaders of business and labor to negotiate a new New Deal.
Talk about the future of work is in the air these days, but will all the chatter lead to action and better living standards for tomorrow’s workers?
Labor leaders sometimes seem to concede defeat too easily, yet workers are still fighting for their place in the middle class.
The chorus chanting ‘America needs a raise!’ will undoubtedly grow as Labor Day approaches. They’re not wrong, but America needs more than that.
The technological transformation of China’s many factories has failed to bring with it an upgrade in working conditions.
The arguments behind right-to-work legislation rely on a lot of flawed math that any statistician would frown upon.
British orgainsed labour has remained relevant despite the onslaught suffered during the 1980s, but it lacks the institutional structure that would make the future secure.
Labor unions face assaults at every turn, yet growing concerns over income equality and Progressivism’s rebirth may help turn the tide.
The growing labour movement in China, as fragmented and repressed as it is, offers hope for workers everywhere as an example of organising against incredible odds.
Labor can prove its continued relevance by highlighting its unique ability to ensure worker knowhow flows up to the executive suite.
Labor unions dub the laws allowing unionized workers to avoid paying dues “right-to-freeload.”
Top contributors
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Professor of Management, Co-Director of the MIT Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research, MIT Sloan School of Management
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Professor Emeritus of Management, Colorado State University
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Professor Emeritus of History and Labor Education, University of Oregon
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Assistant Professor, Department for Labour, Industrial and Economic Sociology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
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Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University
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Associate Professor of Business, Boston University
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Research Scientist at the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy, University of Michigan
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Professor of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis
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Andrew W. Mellon Chair and Professor of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh
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Professor of Education, Arizona State University
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Director of Healthcare Transformation Project, Cornell University
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Clinical Professor of Law, University of Chicago
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Assistant Professor of History, University of Oregon
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Dean's Fellow, ILR School, Cornell University
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PhD Candidate, University of Technology Sydney