Walter Reuther

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

Labor Watch
Big Labor’s Decline and Left Turn: Membership Decline
Lane Kirkland, leadership of the AFL-CIO from 1979 through 1995, was defined by the Long Decline in union membership and union density, the proportion of the workforce consisting of organized…
by Michael Watson on March 21, 2024

Featured Items, Labor Watch
The Union Difference: A Primer On What Unions Do To The Economy
(From the January 2012 publication of Green Watch, PDF here) Everyone knows that unions try to raise…
by James Sherk on January 3, 2012