AFL-CIO

Special Report
The Cases Against Sectoral Bargaining: The Ideological Case
The ideological case against sectoral bargaining is subtly different than the political-advocacy case. Organized labor has always been susceptible to Marxist or Marxist-influenced class-conflict analysis, which has been alien to…
by Michael Watson on August 8, 2024

Special Report
The Cases Against Sectoral Bargaining: The Economic Case
On the question of the economic effects of European-style sectoral bargaining versus American-style enterprise bargaining, the world has been running a sort of general economic experiment since the end of…
by Michael Watson on August 8, 2024

Organization Trends
The Religiosity of ESG Activists Through the Prism of Amazon Shareholder Meetings
To understand how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activists are trying to shoehorn substantive public policy debates into American businesses, look no further than the shareholder resolutions they file at…
by Robert Stilson on May 6, 2024

Labor Watch
Trump-Supporting Steamfitters Show the Union-Member Divide
Whether they like it or not, Trump-supporting union members' real American dollars are supporting the reelection of President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress. Big Labor does not…
by Michael Watson on May 1, 2024

CRC in the News
On Unions and Open Borders
On Labor Relations Radio, CRC's Michael Watson explains Big Labor's dramatic reversal on immigration. In 2000 the AFL-CIO executive council dramatically reversed past policy on immigration, calling “for an immediate…
by Michael Watson on April 3, 2024

Labor Watch
The Turn at the Millennium: Why Big Labor Switched Sides on Immigration
In 2000, the executive council of the AFL-CIO reversed its policy on immigration, calling for amnesty for undocumented immigrants and ending sanctions on their employers. This represented a turn for…
by Michael Watson on March 26, 2024

Labor Watch
Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: A New Power Rises
As President John F. Kennedy took office in January 1961, organized labor looked ahead toward a future of ever-increasing power and influence. States had begun to advance laws requiring themselves…
by Michael Watson on March 21, 2024

Labor Watch
Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: Labor’s Private-Sector Left
In the 1960s, government worker unionism subordinating the wider labor movement was still decades away. The Left of organized labor (laying aside some straggling outright communists and fellow-travelers like International…
by Michael Watson on March 21, 2024

Labor Watch
Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: Causes of the Long Decline
By 1979, when Lane Kirkland succeeded George Meany as head of the AFL-CIO, fundamental changes to the economy had led to a decline in the unionized share of the private…
by Michael Watson on March 21, 2024

Labor Watch
Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: A Trade Unionist in the White House
Precisely one former national labor union president has been elected to the presidency of the United States: Ronald Reagan. Before his political career, he was already a notable figure, perhaps…
by Michael Watson on March 21, 2024