Grow to win, fight to survive: strategic dilemmas facing the US union movement under the 2nd Trump administration
The US labor movement has shown signs of renewal recently with (a) the resurgence of unionization in less-organized sectors such as fast food and higher education, (b) the implementation of innovative bottom-up strategies to strengthen union organization, and (c) the expansion of union demands beyon...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Estadual de Campinas
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://econtents.sbu.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/rbest/article/view/20922 |
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| Summary: | The US labor movement has shown signs of renewal recently with (a) the resurgence of unionization in less-organized sectors such as fast food and higher education, (b) the implementation of innovative bottom-up strategies to strengthen union organization, and (c) the expansion of union demands beyond corporatist issues. This renewal was due to a worker-friendly labor market combined with a wave of worker discontent in the post-pandemic era and an improved legal climate for the labor movement during the Biden administration. However, despite the advances made during that period, the US labor movement did not expand its power quantitatively, and now it is confronting existential challenges under the anti-union Trump regime. In order for US unions to survive what will be an undoubtedly trying period, we postulate that effective organizing practices need to be scaled up nationally, new possibilities for collective action should be explored, legal protections for unions should be reinforced on the subnational level, and popular fronts linking the labor movement to other social movements need to be constructed in order to protect all workers from the brunt of Trump’s policies. |
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| ISSN: | 2674-9564 |
