Hi Eric, I work in the Romanian labor movement and your piece gave me strength when it comes to pinning down the importance of legislation. Going to college makes one think in utopian terms, neglecting strategy and using big words, such as revolution which for many workers seem out of sight. While the r-word is possible, yet unimaginable for the masses we represent, we found that legislation, just like section 7 (a) did in the US can lead to an increase in militancy.
Without the proper mechanisms put in place to support the working-class, many of them (maybe here it is also the cultural component of being Romanian, living under Ceausescu with a strong and punitive surveillance state) would abandon any desire of improving the workplace.
Hope to keep the conversation going and will keep reading the next pieces as well :)
I keep coming thinking about this piece in relation to the debate between what you call "movementism" and government-level politics/labor laws. Thank you for blowing up this false binary and bringing nuance to the discussion.
Useful piece, thanks. Alongside the role of legislation, when weighing the benefits that the electoral side of the equation can bring, it's also important to keep in mind the role that labor-friendly elected officials can play helping strikes succeed. Gov. Olson in the 1934 Minneapolis strike and Gov. Murphy in the '36-'37 Flint sit-down strike both refused to unleash the typical torrent of national guard violence to put down the strikes, enabling the strikes' successes.
Hi Eric, I work in the Romanian labor movement and your piece gave me strength when it comes to pinning down the importance of legislation. Going to college makes one think in utopian terms, neglecting strategy and using big words, such as revolution which for many workers seem out of sight. While the r-word is possible, yet unimaginable for the masses we represent, we found that legislation, just like section 7 (a) did in the US can lead to an increase in militancy.
Without the proper mechanisms put in place to support the working-class, many of them (maybe here it is also the cultural component of being Romanian, living under Ceausescu with a strong and punitive surveillance state) would abandon any desire of improving the workplace.
Hope to keep the conversation going and will keep reading the next pieces as well :)
I keep coming thinking about this piece in relation to the debate between what you call "movementism" and government-level politics/labor laws. Thank you for blowing up this false binary and bringing nuance to the discussion.
Useful piece, thanks. Alongside the role of legislation, when weighing the benefits that the electoral side of the equation can bring, it's also important to keep in mind the role that labor-friendly elected officials can play helping strikes succeed. Gov. Olson in the 1934 Minneapolis strike and Gov. Murphy in the '36-'37 Flint sit-down strike both refused to unleash the typical torrent of national guard violence to put down the strikes, enabling the strikes' successes.