History shows us that when authoritarianism rears its head, whether it takes root depends on the labor movement’s response. That’s why unions must be at the center of the burgeoning antiauthoritarian movement that’s on display in efforts to build a broader pro-democracy coalition under banners like “No Kings” and “Workers Over Billionaires.”
But we have to be clear-eyed: our labor movement isn’t in fighting shape. Most of our unions do not have recent muscle memory of striking or taking confrontational collective action. We must build up to strike readiness through greater organizing and collaboration by large locals and labor councils, and through escalating direct actions involving members and nonmembers alike.
As Donald Trump’s authoritarianism escalates, we have to broaden our tent to include labor-community coalitions. We have to draw on a range of tactics, like consumer boycotts, sick-outs, and slowdowns. We need to reenergize union structures at the national, state, and local levels and line up political and contract demands.
And as Trump tries to snuff out an already-shrinking labor movement, unions have to pay attention not only to their role in defending society but also to defending the rights of union and nonunionized workers under assault.
The stakes for unions and society could hardly be higher. The Trump administration has eliminated union rights for a million federal workers with the stroke of a pen. That’s a hundred times the anti-union tsunami that Ronald Reagan unleashed when he locked out 11,000 striking air traffic controllers in 1981, often cited as a key moment in labor’s decline.
Unions remain one of the most durable, democratic, and internally diverse institutions we have.
The union movement in the United States is fragmented and divided. Teamsters president Sean O’Brien, in fact, gave the Trump campaign a big boost by appearing at the Republican National Convention in the midst of a contentious race, and has…
Auteur: Jackson Potter
