Labor Unions' Power

Paper Summary:

The paper examines three works that analyze the downfall of the American labor movement, but also provide positive information on the transformation of the labor union organizational structure. The paper discusses labor unions' aggressive grassroots campaign, their extension of member demographics and their efforts to establish legitimacy. The paper concludes that, although smaller in size, the influence of labor unions in the political arena is still strong and through expansion and reinvention, labor unions may become the driving force of labor market issues in the 21st century.

Outline:
Labor Organization and Movement
Expanding the Grassroots Campaign
Legitimacy and Organizational Structure

From the Paper:

"The state of the modern American labor movement has seen a drastic change since the congressional and election reforms of the 1970's. Not only did the McGovern reforms eliminate the influence of political party leaders, it served to change the strategic approach of labor unions in the political arena. Additionally, the McGovern Reforms of 1972 addressed the partiality in the Democratic delegation, and hindered the labor unions from seating specific delegates that were labor friendly. In this sense, labor unions were forced to choose Democratic candidates much more wisely, and impaired the standard blanket effort to sponsor multiple Democratic candidates in a single race."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Kate Bronfenbrenner, Organizing to Win. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1998.
• Lowell Turner, Harry C. Katz and Richard W. Hurd, eds., Rekindling the Movement: Labor's Quest for Relevance in the 21st Century. Ithaca: ILR Press, 2002.
• Gary Chaison and Barbara Bigelow, Unions and Legitimacy, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002.

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