The Political Economy of Public-Employee Unionism

What is the current strategy of the public-employee unions—and what direction should they follow in the future? During the past few years, Monthly Review has opened its pages to an important debate over just those questions. Most of the discussion has centered on how alliances for social and democratic change can be forged with workers in the private sector, community groups, and minorities. Unfortunately, however, theory has too often been overwhelmed by polemic, and impressionistic evidence substituted for hard analysis. What is lacking is a theoretical and historical perspective that seeks to understand both where the public-employee movement came from and where it is going today. Only in this way can we make an accurate assessment of the unions' potential and, on that basis, shape an effective, progressive program of action.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website

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