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News from the National Office Post-Election Center TI Launched Roosevelt LiveBlogs the Presidential Debate On Campus Midwest Regional Fall Policy Workshop Blum speaks at Vermont Campus Compact conference Coverage of the Johns Hopkins Chapter Launch > More "You get more joy out of the giving to others, and should put a good deal of thought into the happiness you are able to give." — Eleanor Roosevelt    Revitalizing the Labor Movement > Roosevelt Home > Roosevelt Challenges > Revitalizing the Labor Movement By Kai H Stinchcombe Categories: Labor and workers' rights, Political strategy The Challenge: revitalize organized labor in the United States Important Progressive: accomplishing this challenge will contribute directly and specifically to the progressive values embodied by Roosevelt's Statement of Principles Meaningful: our contribution to this challenge will produce a real change in the lives of our fellow human beings. One can imagine a world in which the challenge is solved, and such a world is better than the one we live in today. Relevant: the challenge is relevant to the social contract project that Roosevelt has embarked upon Historically, the labor movement has been the driving force of progressive politics in America. Every day each of us benefits from policies fought for by the labor movement -- especially on weekends, which basically wouldn't exist without organized labor. Labor is in crisis though. It has been hit hard by globalization's race to the bottom' the shift to service-sector economies from the manufacturing base; the growth of small, nimble contractors instead of in-house production by major corporations; the erosion of job security; a concerted legal attack including right-to-work and restrictions on how dues are collected and used; and increasingly sophisticated anti-union tactics by employers. Union membership has continually declined, and with it the political relevance of labor and its ability to champion progressive policies that will benefit working families. Restoring the strength of the labor movement is critical to progressive goals. Innovative We're looking for policy challenges where innovation is needed: where there isn't already a clear solution or best practices, but solutions can be developed creatively. Our goal is to develop options, not to lobby or advocate for a solution that is already known or to debate among several yes or no outcomes or pre-defined policy choices. Other organizations do the important work of debating and lobbying, that's just not our place in the process. Typically if you're looking at a standard policy debate you can apply what's known as the "Roosevelt Reframe" to develop new strategies to advance shared values. So rather than "should we engage in race-based affirmative action in college admissions" to which the potential answers are "yes" and "no", you can ask "how do we make our colleges more diverse", a goal we hope is shared by those on both sides of that debate. After decades of decline labor is taking some pretty amazing steps to shake things up: Coalition-building and general progressive-movement advocacy (e.g. apollo alliance, americans against the escalation in iraq, working partnerships usa) Outreach to youth, e.g. "union summer" programs Increased focus on organizing both by individual unions and federations A concerted and strategic approach to Wal-mart More sophisticated and independent political efforts -- i.e., among other things, not just donating money to the Democratic party but building a stronger independent ground game, call centers, etc. Increasing political activation of union members and internal outreach A smarter approach to immigration and diversity In this time of flux we can have a real impact on the future of the labor movement, and our alliance would surely be welcomed by labor groups which are actively reaching out to other parts of the youth and progressive movement. Feasible Approachable: given the level of research and discourse already available and given who else is working on the issue, college students with a range of experience levels and with varied types of expertise can contribute meaningfully to the debate and are likely to think of good ideas. We don't want something so technical only engineering majors can contribute to it, or something that is already dominated by another think tank or advocacy organization. Practical: the challenge is stated as a specific, measurable, and achievable goal, incremental progress toward which could be made by chipping away at the problem at various levels of government. The statement is not too broad or too narrow. One good way to make sure something is a good policy challenge rather than a debate or advocacy problem is to think of what sorts of innovative ideas might be produced for the 25 ideas publication series on that topic. There are perhaps two broad areas we could work in -- laws and regulations and structures at the government level that help strengthen labor, and policies and programs the labor movement itself could adopt to be more relevant in the new environment. Probably one of the best avenues for this would be looking at best practices among union locals or state federations and helping to port these among other ones, though there is some space for innovation and vision also (see, e.g., http://www.monthlyreview.org/0205commentary.htm and http://www.thenation.com/doc/20021223/ehrenreich , but there have also been a couple of special issues of progressive magazines on the future of organized labor). Here are some potential avenues for policy research: GOVERNMENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS - repealing right-to-work - tougher penalties for breaking labor laws and ways to get enforcement faster and more reliably - turning back the assault on unions' political roles - clever ways to extending collective bargaining rights to outsourced or offshored workers - channeling workplace benefits other than collective bargaining through unions (e.g. family leave, health care, legal aid) - reducing incentives for anti-labor stuff (e.g. pay or play healthcare laws, prevailing wage or community benefits laws in government contracting at various levels, incorporating labor standards in trade agreements to reduce race to the bottom stuff, etc.) WHAT LABOR SHOULD DO - partnerships between locals and other progressive movement groups - minimum wage ballot initiatives - ways to activate and involve membership in decision making and in communities Comments Spencer Sherman, Mon 9 Jul 9:35 am PST: I'm slightly nervous that a challenge like this would get us more involved in politics and activism (both important, but not Roosevelt's niche) rather than policymaking.   The Roosevelt Institution is a nonpartisan, nonprofit national think tank devoted to bringing students' policy ideas to the policy process. 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