The Supreme Court’s recent hearing of arguments in the Harris v. Quinn case along with ongoing attacks at the state-level has reminded many in the labor movement of the existential threat facing public sector unions. They have reasons for concern: after all, today the majority of union workers are employed in the public sector, marking a dramatic turnaround from just a few decades back. Lost amid the current worries over the future of public sector bargaining is what’s already gone missing, because it turns out that a labor movement dominated by government employees looks and acts differently than one rooted in the private sector. This sectoral shift has changed what it is that unions do for their members in fundamental ways.
Read Full Article »
