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.
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.
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.
Tom Barnes, Australian Catholic University and Kevin Lin, University of Technology Sydney
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.