The core problem for Marxists is that unions occupy a paradoxical place in socialist strategy. On the one hand, they are essential for creating the collective working-class actor that is necessary to bring about socialism. On the other hand, by their very form they presuppose the continued existence of capitalism, given their primary focus on negotiating wages, benefits, and working conditions with capitalists.
Category: Media
Of Hoffa and Hollywood
I recently published a piece in Jacobin offering a sober assessment of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa’s legacy. He was a household name in his prime when he was heading up the Teamsters Union, and even today remains one of the best-known labor leaders in the U.S. He’s been on people’s minds more recently thanks to Martin Scorsese’s film The Irishman.
Labor and the Class Idea Reviewed in The Progressive
I was happy to see Shaun Richman’s generous review of my book in The Progressive. A longtime labor activist, writer, and now Program Director of the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. Center for Labor Studies at SUNY Empire State College, Richman brought to the review his many years of experience grappling directly with the kinds of challenges that I address in the book.
Live on Beneath the Surface with Suzi Weissman
On March 29, 2019, Suzi Weissman and I sat down for an in-depth interview around the theme of “Labor, Socialism, and the Struggle for Power,” at a meeting sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. The interview was taped for Suzi’s long-running “Beneath the Surface” show on KPFK 90.7 FM Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles.
What the LA teachers’ strike tells us about labor’s future
On January 25, the Washington Post published a piece of mine on the recently-concluded Los Angeles teachers’ strike. While it was certainly a decisive victory for the members of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the LA teachers’ union, it also has broader implications for the US labor movement more broadly—particularly in light of last year’s Supreme Court…
Talking with Heartland Labor Forum about the Class Idea
On December 27, 2018, I had the chance to sit down with Jacob White of Heartland Labor Forum to talk about my book. HLF is a weekly radio show on KKFI 90.1 FM in Kansas City, Missouri that was founded by the Worker Education and Labor Studies Program at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. While…
Taking Stock of the Labor Movement for Labor Day
To mark the Labor Day holiday, I wrote a piece for the Washington Post taking stock of the current state of the US labor movement, and thinking of what its past can tell us about the road ahead. While unions have taken a beating over the past several decades, this Labor Day is somewhat different in…
Labor and the Class Idea on Political Eh?conomy Radio
Michal Rozworski is a smart lefty economist from Canada. He runs a smart blog, as well as a smart podcast, both called “Political Eh?conomy” (because Canadians say “eh?” a lot, and it’s about political economy, get it?). On July 26 I was able to join Michal as a guest on his podcast, where we talked…
A step backwards for worker freedom
Today, the US Supreme Court issued its worst decision on labor rights in decades in Janus v. AFSCME. The 5-4 decision uses a narrow conception of individual rights to declare that workers are free to opt out of paying for the cost of negotiating and enforcing union contracts from which they benefit. It does so by stating…
Commenting on the G7 summit in Quebec
The G7 summit in La Malbaie, Quebec wrapped up this past weekend. While most of the coverage focused on President Trump’s petulant behavior and his refusal to sign onto the closing communiqué, some reporters did want to know about the actual issues surrounding the summit, and the efforts of those who disagree with the political…
Talking social movements on CBC
On Thursday, June 7, 2018, I got to discuss some of the core issues I bring up in my Contemporary Social Movements class with CBC Saskatchewan listeners on Blue Sky with Garth Materie: why and when do people mobilize? When can protests work? How do movements win? It was an interesting experience doing a call-in…
Labor and the Class Idea on The Sociology Annex podcast
I had a great time with the crew at The Sociology Annex podcast (Joseph Cohen, Leslie Hinkson, and Gabriel Rossman) about my book, as well as other matters of sociological interest. You can find a link to the episode here.
Barry Eidlin 