From “hot labor summer” to the winter of Trump: an analysis of current political and organizational dynamics of the American labor movement

Abstract

After decades of decline, the US labor movement has demonstrated signs of revitalization since the COVID-19 pandemic, with new organizing practices, the realization of a larger and broader number of strikes in the public and sectors, and the incorporation of less corporatist issues in their social dialogue agendas. This new wave of unionization differs from earlier attempts to increase union power for being more directly protagonized by rank-and-file workers. This article will analyze the current union dynamics in the USA, using quantitative and qualitative indicators, to better understand the ruptures and continuities between the current situation and previous forms of unionism prevalent in the USA, including business unionism and labor liberalism. The preliminary results of this study indicate that, despite the qualitative innovations in the organizational forms and political positions of the unions that form part of this new current, there has not been an increase in quantitative strength, due to legislative limitations, widespread anti-union practices by employers, and the lack of political parties more directly linked to the working class.