Labor 101 – Outline and Materials
Session 1 - Workers, Unions and Class Struggle
Materials
Sections 1-4 of Labor 101: Socialism and the Labor Movement (2021) by Fred Glass, EBDSA
“Step by Step” from Golden Lands, Working Hands, Part 1 (1999) by Fred Glass, CFT
Excerpt from Norris-LaGuardia Act (Sec 2)
Outline
Step by Step video
Introduction
Introduce yourself and say one problem at your workplace.
Class and Unions
Who is the working class?
Why do workers need unions?
What’s so essential about the working class?
What Unions Do
What is a union? Are unions the only way workers organize?
What should a union's responsibilities be / what should a good local union do?
Unions aren’t always what they should be. What are some problems in unions?
Norris-LaGuardia Act and terms
Session 2 - Solidarity Forever: Unions and Socialists
Materials
Sections 5-8 of Labor 101: Socialism and the Labor Movement
Outline
What Could a Union Do?
For those of you who are not in a union, what could a union do in your workplace, or former workplace? What might people do together to improve their work experience?
For those of you who are in a union, what has your union experience been? How has it encouraged or organized collective action?
Union Power and Union Democracy
How does a union change power relations and attitudes?
Why is union democracy important?
Labor History by era
Session 3 - Class Struggle Strategies in Unions
Materials
Video: Fighting For Our Union, Salt of the Air, 1981
“Rank-and-File Strategy Is Vindicated”(1992) by Dan La Botz
Excerpt from Ch.16 of The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland (2020) by Toni Gilpin
Outline
Theories of the Labor Movement
Case Study #1: Farm Equipment Workers-CIO
Case Study #2: Teamsters for a Democratic Union
Session 4 - Socialists in the Labor Movement Now
Materials
"Unionism and Socialism" (1907) by Eugene V. Debs
“What is the Importance of Leftists in the Struggle?” by Helena Worthen and Joe Berry
“Current Issues in the Labor Movement” (2022) by Joe Berry
An article of choice about a very recent labor struggle/development, illustrating a current issue that can be discussed in the group.
Outline
Eugene Debs Speech
Relationship between unions and socialist organizations
Socialists and Unions
Why are socialists necessary in building a strong labor movement?
Why do socialists see a strong labor movement as necessary to moving toward socialism?
Current Issues in Labor
Discussion of an article on a local/current struggle
Getting Involved
Series Feedback