Labor and the U.S. Electorate

NOTE: This resource has been developed by APSA to provide media with information from notable political scientists on issues in American politics, including introductory essays, contact information for dozens of scholars around the country, and citations for recent research. For more information, contact Bahram Rajaee (brajaee@apsanet.org)

Margaret Levi, University of Washington

Experts

David Cingranelli SUNY- Binghamton 607-777-2435 Workers' rights, comparative human rights practices, U.S. public policy Peter Francia East Carolina University (252) 328-6126 Union campaigning and political contributions, labor PACs, union lobbying, grassroots labor activities Archon Fung Harvard University 617-495-9846 Civic participation, deliberation and transparency, contemporary public governance Michael Goldfield Wayne State University 607-777-2435 Labor and American politics, public sector unions Gordon Lafer University of Oregon 541-346-2786 Labor and politics, prison labor, political economy, welfare policy and the job training system Richard Kearney East Carolina University 252-328-1066 Public employee unions and collective bargaining, monetary impacts of unions, collective bargaining Christine Kelly William Paterson University 973-720-3430 Social movements, anti-sweatshop protests Immanuel Ness City University of New York- Brooklyn College 718-951-5310 American social movements, labor and politics, labor migration David Olson University of Washington 206-543-7948 National, state, and urban politics, political violence, seaport politics, congestion pricing, term limits Andrew Perrin University of North Carolina 919-962-6876 Deliberation, political culture, ideology, protest, media Frances Fox Piven City University of New York Graduate Center 212-817-7000 The Welfare State, political movements, urban political, electoral politics Adolph Reed New School University 212-647-7749 Labor history, social construction of race, American political thought Joel Rogers University of Wisconsin- Madison 608-262-4592 Constitutional law, labor and employment law, administrative law, U.S. and comparative industrial relations Margaret Weir University of California- Berkeley 510-643-1602 Social policy and politics, metropolitan inequalities, politics of urban coalitions, urban politics, the welfare state

American labor unions represent approximately 16 million members. This makes organized labor one of the largest potential voting blocs in the U.S., especially when one adds union-supportive family and friends to the total. This year, for the first time in a long time, there appears to be nearly universal union consensus: in support of John Kerry or, perhaps, for the defeat of George Bush. But unions and their members are far from homogenous, and this consensus may not hold for all local elections or over time. Unions affect electoral turnout, but it is less clear how much difference their votes and contributions have made in recent presidential and congressional elections. There seem to be no systematic studies other than those provided by the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations), but there are several state-based electoral campaigns where the results speak for themselves. Exemplary is the union-led defeat of the California proposition that would have restricted the use of union dues in electoral campaigns. Certainly candidates, at the state and local as well as national levels, vie for union endorsements.

The general decline in union membership from 1/3 of the workforce in 1954 to 12.9% of the workforce in 2003 has weakened labor's historic impact. While links still endure between the Democratic Party and organized labor, rank-and-file labor commitment to the Democrats began to waiver in the 1960s. The protests against the Vietnam War damaged the traditional alliance among labor, students, and intellectuals. Changes in the economy further rocked members' confidence in government and by 1980 heralded the rise of the "Reagan Democrats." Moreover, union members are diverse. Some are pro-choice and some are right to life. Some support while others oppose gun laws. Some are racist or sexist, but many are strongly committed to racial justice and gender equity. Some are blue-collar, some professional, some recent immigrants, and some are long-term residents watching their jobs go overseas or to lower-priced domestic labor. All are concerned about jobs, labor rights as human rights, and a decent standard of living, but they disagree about what this means and for whom. Thus, it is hardly surprising that some locals may back a Green Party candidate or advocate for the formation of a labor party or fusion politics.

In February 2003, the AFL-CIO announced a full-out grassroots mobilization of working families in the 2004 elections. Unions are worried about the effects of outsourcing of jobs and unfair competition from international and immigrant workers who are getting poverty wages and no benefits. They are concerned about the number of workers who must hold multiple jobs to support a family while experiencing deterioration in overtime pay and benefits. They are angry about the growth in economic inequality and the decline in economic well-being. Among their major policy demands are:

• Creation of good jobs that offer decent pay and benefits
• Workers' freedom to join and form unions
• Health care and prescription drug coverage
• Retirement security
• Improved education opportunities
• Immigrant rights
• Corporate accountability
• Labor rights for overseas workers covered by U.S. trade agreements

Margaret Levi is the Jere L. Bacharach Professor of International Studies at the University of Washington, Director of the CHAOS (Comparative Historical Analysis of Organizations and States) Center, and the current president-elect of the American Political Science Association. She can be reached at mlevi@u.washington.edu or 206-543-7947.

Recent Publications on Labor and the U.S. Electorate

Francia, Peter. 2006. The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.

Hurd, Richard W., Ruth Milkman, and Lowell Turner. 2003. "Reviving the American Labour Movement: Institutions and Mobilization." European Journal of Industrial Relations 9 (1):99-117.

Levi, Margaret. 2003. "Organizing Power: Prospects for the American Labor Movement." Perspectives on Politics 1:1 (March) 45-68.

Clawson, Dan. 2003. The Next Upsurge: Labor and the New Social Movements. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.

Archon Fung. 2003. "Deliberative Democracy and International Labor Standards," Governance 16: 1 (January).

Gordon Lafer. 2002. The Job Training Charade Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Radcliff, Benjamin. 2001. "Organized Labor and Electoral Participation in American National Elections," Journal of Labor Research 22 (2):405-414.

Teixeira, Ruy A., and Joel Rogers. 2001. America's Forgotten Majority: Why the White Working Class Still Matters. New York: Basic Books.

Turner, Lowell, Richard W. Hurd, and Harry Katz, eds. 2001. Rekindling the Movement: Labor's Quest for Relevance in the Twenty-First Century. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.

Dark, Taylor. 2001. The Unions and the Democrats: An enduring alliance. 2nd ed. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Francia, P. L. 2001. "The Effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Corporate and Labor PAC Contributions," American Politics Research 29 (1):98- 109.

Piven, Francese Fox, Richard Cloward. 2000. "Does the Electoral Path Work for Labor?" Working USA 4:1 (July 31).

Reynolds, David. 2000. "Labor and the Third-party Route." Working USA 4:1 (July 31).

Century Foundation, Task Force on the Future of Unions. 1999. What's Next for Organized Labor. New York: The Century Foundation.

Piven, Frances Fox, and Richard Cloward. 1997. Breaking of the American Social Compact. New York: The New Press.