Feb 04 2025 45 mins 8
Both major political parties claim to be the true champions of the working class at a time when excessive concentrations of wealth and power are eroding the foundations of American democracy. Unions are not a reality for most workers, especially in the private sector where the unionization rate is about 6 percent. So it is no surprise that worker solidarity -- a collective sense that working-class people have a shared interest in fighting for a greater share of the wealth and more control over their working lives -- is at a low point. In this episode, Georgetown University historian Michael Kazin traces the rise and fall of worker solidarity in America.
Further reading:
What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party by Michael Kazin
Structure and Solidarity by Leo Casey in Dissent (article)
