When US Labor Leaders Helped Repress the Global Left
During the Cold War, much of labor officialdom collaborated with the US government to repress labor movements and left-wing forces abroad. The conservatism that enabled this sordid alliance still impacts much of the US labor movement today.
George Meany, president of the AFL-CIO, is shown addressing a convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, December 7, 1957. (Bettmann / Getty Images)
Over the past few years, the labor movement in the United States has experienced somewhat of a revival. That has included the wildcat strikes led by teachers in the 2018–19 “red state rebellion,” the nationwide Starbucks Workers United organizing drive, the victory of the independent Amazon Labor Union at the JFK8 warehouse, the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes last year, and the recent contract victories of the Teamsters and United Auto Workers against the United Postal Service (UPS) and the Big Three auto manufacturers, respectively.
In 2022, public support for unions reached its highest point since the 1960s, and polls indicate a majority of US workers would join a union if they could. In light of all this, it’s all the more astonishing that union membership density in the United States reached its lowest point (10.1 percent) that year, according to a 2023 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If two-thirds of workers in the United States support unions and recognize the importance of organized labor, why hasn’t union density skyrocketed?
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