'Bread & Butter' Unionism vs. 'Social Justice' Unionism
An important article on the future of unions and politics.
By Peter List, Editor | December 5, 2024
Editor’s note: As a former union activist (decades ago), I have always believed in Samuel Gompers’ form of "pure and simple unionism." As a young union representative in a Right-to-Work state—where we had to fight to get non-members to join the union—I found our union’s entry into social issues only served to alienate prospective members and voiced my concerns in a lengthy discussion with one of our officers at the time.
My belief over 30 years ago remains the same today: Unions are a service for working people, and forays into social issues divide a union’s constituency, which harms the union overall. Unions should stick to “bread and butter” issues and not pick and choose social issues that a significant portion of union members oppose.
“As white collar ‘knowledge workers’ increasingly supplant the traditional industrial worker cores of unions like the UAW, this conflict between town and gown has become ingrained in the labor movement.” — Jake Altman, Labor Unions vs. Working People
Although the social issues today are different than they were decades ago, in light of Donald Trump’s winning the presidency again, the debate over “bread and butter” unionism versus “social justice” unionism remains.
While the majority of union households voted for Kamala Harris last month, it varied by union and by state, with a significant portion of blue-collar union members voting for Trump.
“Trump won 54 percent of voters who live in a union household [in Ohio], compared to 44 percent who backed Harris,” CNN reported last month.
I am providing this background to share an important article that examines this debate: Labor Unions vs. Working People by Jake Altman.
As Mr. Altman writes:
The refusal to grapple with on-the-ground realities and acknowledge limits as well as new possibilities has long been characteristic of the political myopia of the far left, which is why working-class voters—including those who religiously vote for Democrats—have long preferred the political mainstream. Since Nov. 5, a growing consensus has emerged about the need to extirpate the far left from Democratic circles. The question becomes how do labor moderates return our movement to reality when a significant proportion of its members and staff, drawn from the hothouses of factional politics, nurtured on out-of-touch campuses where the far left can impose its own orthodoxies from the top down, continue to march us toward their imaginary utopias, and over the cliff.
As a unionist and socialist, some may view Mr. Altman’s as anathema to their personal views. However, following unions increasingly losing influence on their members’ voting patterns, it is an important topic to consider.
