Labor Movement

Unlike a labor union, which is an empirical reality as a bureaucratic organization, a labor movement is a conceptual, rather than a physical, category. While its components are real (labor unions), it is a construct of people's minds. In common usage it refers to a nation's labor unions and the working class. Viewed as an ideal type (a Weberian term referring to the ideal version), it implies unity, coordination, cohesion, and, to draw on the favorite word of supporters of the concept, labor solidarity.

Union leaders promote respect for the concept because it connotes strength and purpose. The idea of the existence of a labor movement gives vote-seeking politicians reason to pay favorable attention to labor's political agenda. It gives union organizers an attractive image to leverage in their ceaseless efforts to persuade the unorganized to vote to join as dues-paying members. It gives members a welcomed sense of personal significance, of being members of a social force for the Good. It also gives hope to the unorganized, as it highlights a force whose agenda includes winning gains, such as raises in the minimum wage level, that accrue to the well-being of all, union and nonunion workers alike.

Critics of the concept also promote its use, though for very different reasons. They use the idea of there being a labor movement to frighten all who fear that special interest groups undermine the general well-being of everyone. They warn that labor “bosses” (aka leaders) hobble the free market with unnecessary rules and regulations (as with those that promote safety and health at work). They use the concept to magnify shortcomings of this union or that one (such as sexist or racist ways), and they generalize from these weaknesses to the entire body of unions. And they use the concept to exaggerate labor's power, thereby making a case for passage of new laws that weaken labor.

In fact, the concept is far weaker than either its admirers or detractors prefer acknowledging. Especially in advanced industrial nations like the United States where individualism is the main cultural motif, there is much that divides union members from one another (including levels of educational attainment, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual preference, political leanings, social class self-identification, industry, craft, etc.). Accordingly, it is hard for union leaders to get members to act on behalf of a cause that is not exactly theirs but is more a concern of other unionists.

Labor movement solidarity, although often displayed at Labor Day parades and picnics where no risk or price is entailed, frequently disappears where it really counts, as in daring to strike in support of the picket line of another union. Likewise, detractors of the concept are reluctant to concede there is far less to it than their calculated use of it as a fear-provoking image suggests.

Whereas in the 1800s, during the early industrial revolution, the notion of a labor movement may have had heft and consequence, there are only two aspects today with substance: political and community affairs. In the United States and most advanced industrial nations, the labor movement remains a voting force of importance. Unions can draw on many volunteers to run phone banks, canvas neighborhoods on foot to distribute campaign literature, and, in many other consequential ways, make a difference in election outcomes. Likewise, in response to a disaster (floods, hurricanes, etc.), the labor movement can rally many volunteers to rush aid to the needy, assist rescue and recovery operations (as during the 9/11 attack in New York), and in numerous other ways, lend a distinct and valuable hand.

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