Category Archives: union organzing

Basic Training For Organizers

As a labor organizer, I had thousands of conversations with the “unorganized.” But, much of my work was “organizing the organizer” — preparing members and activists to talk to their co-workers. I use the method in the video as a … Continue reading

Posted in Labor Movement, organizing, Organizing Method, Organizing Strategy, union organzing, unions, Working Class | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Workers Are Walking Out

Workers Are Walking Out After decades of retreat, it might just be that workers are coming into their own as a force for social change. Forty years of punishing austerity and a two-tiered labor system pitting new, temporary, or part-time workers against … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, Capitalism, Corporate Power, Labor Movement, organizing, Organizing Strategy, revolutionary strategy, Socialism, union organzing, unions, White Privilege, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

How They Stole $50 Trillion. How We Take It Back.

Between the mid-1930s and mid-1970s worker organizing and unrest created a degree of economic democracy not achieved since. It was quite an accomplishment. After several decades of increased standards of living for most US workers, corporate actors organized a counter-attack … Continue reading

Posted in American Culture, austerity, Capitalism, Corporate Power, Empire, History, Labor Movement, Military, organizing, Organizing Method, Organizing Strategy, Racism, Red Scare, revolutionary strategy, Socialism, Strategy, union organzing, unions, War, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

What is Austerity? That is the 50 Trillion Dollar Question.

The modern system of austerity took shape in the mid-1970s and we are still in its grip. Austerity is meant to trap us in a destructive double-bind; the race to the bottom for millions of people is also the race to … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, Corporate Power, electoral strategy, Empire, History, Labor Movement, Military, organizing, Organizing Strategy, Racism, revolutionary strategy, Socialism, union organzing, unions, Working Class | Leave a comment

Organizing White Workers When The Klan Is In The Shop

With the rise of the extreme right, the Klan and its modern descendants are definitely “in the shop.” Here’s a story from a long time ago but it could have happened only yesterday. This is not a heroic tale just … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, History, Labor Movement, Martin Luther King, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Method, Organizing Strategy, Racism, Red Scare, union organzing, unions, White Privilege, White Supremacy, White workers, Working Class | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

January 6th: Cops, Vigilantes, and the Ruling Class

As more and more evidence comes in, much of it reveals collusion between the neo-fascists who were the hard-core and vanguard of the mob and the police, military, politicians and President. While some of the overwhelmed Capitol Police resisted the … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, Corporate Power, History, Masculinity, Military, Organizing Strategy, Racism, Red Scare, union organzing, unions | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

What We Have Here is a Failure to Negotiate

No relief worth a damn? No healthcare? What we have here is a failure to negotiate. And that is a direct outcome of the failure to challenge power. I was only chief negotiator once but I sat at enough bargaining … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, Cooperation, Corporate Power, electoral strategy, Labor Movement, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, Socialism, Strategy, union organzing, unions, War, Working Class | Tagged , | 2 Comments

What is the General Strike?

Also at CounterPunch. The General Strike in the US is a multi-faceted, poly-centered resistance movement responding to the general crisis of capitalism and corporate power triggered by the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic is revealing to millions what was always well … Continue reading

Posted in American Culture, Capitalism, Climate Change, Cooperation, Corporate Power, electoral strategy, Empire, Green Party, History, Labor Movement, Military, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, Red Scare, revolutionary strategy, Socialism, union organzing, unions, White Supremacy, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Inside/Outside Strategy Revisited

What is Strategy? Strategy is a plan — a proposed course of action. Strategy demands the analysis of current conditions and statements of desired goals. But, the primary focus of strategy is “how.”  How do we work the transition between … Continue reading

Posted in American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Capitalism, Cooperation, Corporate Power, History, Labor Movement, Martin Luther King, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Method, Organizing Strategy, Strategy, union organzing, unions, White Privilege, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The People Made the First New Deal. Can the People Make Another?

Also find this article at Counterpunch. Massive Protest and Organizing Created the New Deal The kind of electoral victories we need will take far more than standard electioneering and Facebook debates.  Let’s look at what it took to create the New … Continue reading

Posted in American Culture, electoral strategy, History, Labor Movement, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Method, Organizing Strategy, revolutionary strategy, Strategy, union organzing, unions, War, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments