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What Happened to Worker Solidarity?

What Happened to Worker Solidarity?

History As It Happens · Martin Di Caro

February 4, 202544m 30s

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Show Notes

Both major political parties claim to be the true champions of the working class at a time when excessive concentrations of wealth and power are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Unions are not a reality for most workers, especially in the private sector where the unionization rate is about 6 percent. So it is no surprise that worker solidarity -- a collective sense that working-class people have a shared interest in fighting for a greater share of the wealth and more control over their working lives -- is at a low point. In this episode, Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin traces the rise and fall of worker solidarity in America.

Further reading:

What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party by Michael Kazin

Structure and Solidarity by Leo Casey in Dissent (article)