Bon Jovi’s hit “Livin’ on a Prayer” is an anthem about working class survival. But it also contains a deeper message about class struggle. — The 1986 Bon Jovi hit song Livin’ on a Prayer from their Slippery When Wet album was a favorite of mine growing up. You probably hear it several times a year in stores, cafes, and bars, from its recognizable talk box “oowa oowa ooh ooh oowa” intro, to the soaring…

This is my annual roundup of labor data on union membership, elections and strikes. How is the U.S. labor movement doing? At the beginning of each year a bunch of annual U.S. union data is released, and this is a good time to see what it tells us about how…

Some thoughts on how unions need to step up in an era of tremendous interest in organizing. A few recent articles highlighted for me a particular and serious problem unions have responding to the huge need for organizing right now. Workers in Michigan recently organized the first union at a…

This is my annual roundup of labor data on union membership, elections and strikes. How is the labor movement doing? At the beginning of each year a bunch of annual U.S. union data is released, and this is a good time to see what it tells us about how the…

I look at some useful tools to create strategies for labor organizing and other social movement campaigns. These tools ask us to think deeply about what we’re doing. Why Do Campaign Strategic Planning? If your group is brainstorming a campaign to change a public policy or to stop a harmful corporate action, it can often…

Understanding what’s going on with unions, productivity and inequality in one cool chart! The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is an essential source for labor and union related data, analysis and commentary. It’s known for presenting a few fascinating charts, including a comparison below, of the union membership rate (the percentage…

This is my annual roundup of labor data on union membership, elections and strikes. How is the labor movement doing? At the beginning of each year a bunch of annual U.S. labor data is released and this is a good time to see what it tells us about how the…

I revisit the construction of Morningside Gardens and the labor issues reported in the co-op’s documents at the time. This project provides a fascinating window into labor relations in that era of peak union membership and power. — Introduction Since 2008, my spouse and I have lived in Morningside Gardens, a housing cooperative in New York City. Established in 1957, it is located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and has six 21-story residential buildings with nearly 1,000 apartments.

I look at a range of labor movement actions and resources that have developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic disaster. The coronavirus crisis reminds us that workers must organize to save themselves. Well over a month into an unprecedented U.S. corona pandemic lockdown era, unions, worker centers…