{"id":7866,"date":"2025-09-30T14:10:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T18:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=7866"},"modified":"2025-10-06T11:29:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T15:29:58","slug":"why-do-fascists-fear-unions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-8\/why-do-fascists-fear-unions\/","title":{"rendered":"Book excerpt: Why Do Fascists Fear Unions?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was excerpted with permission from Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy<\/em>, published by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. \u00a9 2025 by Rhonda Weingarten.<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

As President Joe Biden often points out, \u201cThe middle class built America, and unions built the middle class.\u201d1<\/sup>\u00a0It is incredibly powerful to look at historic charts of union membership versus income distribution in the United States.2<\/sup>\u00a0When unionization rates rise like a mountain, income inequality craters into a valley. Unions level the playing field. But, of course, the opposite is also true. When unionization declines, income inequality rises.<\/p>\n

The earliest forms of labor organizing in America were enslaved Black people and enslaved Native Americans leading rebellions throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.3<\/sup>\u00a0In 1794, the first known union in the United States\u2014a union of shoemakers\u2014was founded in Philadelphia.4<\/sup>\u00a0Mill workers in Lowell, Massachusetts\u2014including girls as young as 12\u2014formed the first union of working women in the nation and in 1834 went on strike over wage cuts.5<\/sup>\u00a0In 1867, around 3,000 Chinese laborers building the Transcontinental Railroad launched what was at the time the largest strike in the nation\u2019s history, stopping work to demand better wages.6<\/sup><\/p>\n

In the mid-1800s, Americans regularly worked 12 hours a day or even longer.7<\/sup>\u00a0Between 1890 and 1910, almost one out of every five children between the ages of 10 and 15 was working.8<\/sup>\u00a0And conditions were abysmal. As just one example, the nation was rocked in March 1911 when the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in lower Manhattan caught fire.9<\/sup>\u00a0Poor ventilation meant the fire spread quickly, and locked doors and a single faulty fire escape meant workers couldn\u2019t get out. That day, 146 burned alive or leapt from windows to their death.<\/p>\n

But it was only because unions pressed for change that, in 1938, the federal government passed the Fair Labor Standards Act.10<\/sup>\u00a0The law established a maximum workweek of 40 hours and required that anyone working more than that be paid overtime. Plus, the law established a federal minimum wage and banned child labor. It would take over 30 more years for unions to win the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, creating minimum workplace safety and health standards.11<\/sup><\/p>\n

As the power and influence of unions grew, so did attacks from employers. It became common for businesses to \u201cspy on, interrogate, discipline, discharge, and blacklist union members.\u201d12<\/sup>\u00a0So unions also pressed for and won the National Labor Relations Act. Enacted in 1935, the law guarantees workers \u201cthe right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.\u201d13<\/sup>\u00a0This is the foundation of labor rights\u2014giving real voice and workplace democracy to millions of American workers who had for too long been powerless.<\/p>\n

Why do fascists, oligarchs, autocrats, and the far right hate unions so much? To understand that, it\u2019s important to first understand how unions work.<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

Unions Give Workers a Voice\u2014and Power<\/h3>\n

On the one hand, unions are like any other membership organization that people join because of shared interests. If you care about the environment and want more green space in your community, you might join a garden club or local environmental group. Well, if you care about your job and want to make sure you and other workers are treated fairly at work, you start a union or join one that already exists.<\/p>\n

But unions have power that few other organizations do because, legally, they can represent groups of members in a workplace and bargain on behalf of those workers over the terms and conditions of work. And the right to do so\u2014the right to form a union and collectively bargain with other workers\u2014is protected under a mix of federal and state laws.14<\/sup><\/p>\n

Unions are also unique in that they are democratic organizations. Locals have constitutions and elections. All of the leaders are elected, including, in the case of national unions like mine, the members electing leaders of their national unions. I am elected to a two-year term by the members of the AFT at its biennial convention. Together, we express shared interests with a shared voice. One of the best examples of this is through collective bargaining, which is the way that unions and the employers they work with arrive at a contract\u2014where the terms and conditions of the working relationship are agreed upon. Whatever the size or strategy, it\u2019s called \u201ccollective bargaining\u201d because workers are coming together through their unions to negotiate as a group with employers on work-related issues. And workers have power in those negotiations because of their members joining together as one.<\/p>\n

Unions make a powerful difference in the lives of working people. Unions raise wages for their members by an average of 10 to 15 percent.15<\/sup>\u00a0Over 9 out of 10 union members have employer-sponsored health benefits and paid sick days, significantly higher rates than for nonunion workers.16<\/sup>\u00a0And union workers are more likely to have employer-sponsored retirement plans than nonunion workers.17<\/sup>\u00a0Importantly, where there are strong unions, average wages are higher across the board, even for nonunionized workers.18<\/sup>\u00a0For every 1 percent more that private workers are unionized, wages for nonunion workers go up 0.3 percent.19<\/sup>\u00a0And the effect is even greater for workers without college degrees.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that fascists don\u2019t like unions. Unions make life better for all working people. Fascists rely on what political scientist Jean Hardisty called \u201cmobilizing resentment,\u201d but that strategy doesn\u2019t work if there\u2019s no resentment to mobilize.20<\/sup>\u00a0Fascists need extreme economic inequality to provide the fertile ground for scapegoating immigrants and other vulnerable minorities. And the same playbook used to crush unions is deployed to silence journalists, demonize activists, and suppress voters\u2014because fascism can\u2019t survive in a world where we, the people, have power, information, and opportunity.<\/p>\n

Plus, of course, some fascists are oligarchs\u2014or are aligned with oligarchs\u2014who personally reap the benefits of wealth inequality. Elon Musk\u2014the wealthiest person in the world and the top supporter of Donald Trump\u2019s second presidential campaign\u2014has profited by exploiting workers.21<\/sup>\u00a0Musk reportedly gloated about his employees trying to impress him by working 20 hours a day and sleeping in the office.22<\/sup>\u00a0And a US appeals court ruled that Musk illegally threatened that Tesla workers would lose benefits if they unionized.23<\/sup>\u00a0He once said he disagrees with \u201cthe idea of unions\u201d because they create \u201ca lords and peasants sort of thing.\u201d24<\/sup>\u00a0Labor reporter Steven Greenhouse comments, \u201cThat the world\u2019s richest human dissed the idea of unions should certainly be seen as a selling point for unionizing. Musk\u2019s statement shows that he realizes that unions can be highly effective in harnessing the collective voice and power of workers.\u201d25<\/sup>\u00a0As a result of Musk\u2019s philosophy, nonunionized Tesla workers earn significantly less than auto workers covered by the United Auto Workers union\u2014in some cases as much as 40 percent less.26<\/sup>\u00a0Meanwhile, amid mounting accusations of abuse against workers at SpaceX, Musk filed an audacious suit in federal court arguing that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unconstitutional.27<\/sup>\u00a0This is one of dozens of lawsuits that Musk\u2019s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos\u2019s Amazon, and other corporations have filed against the NLRB.28<\/sup><\/p>\n

Look, no institution is perfect. That\u2019s why I work tirelessly to make the labor movement more effective. But while unions face almost constant scrutiny, wealthy, powerful special interests are often let completely off the hook. For instance, when some of the largest private banks in America made massive mistakes leading to the 2008 financial crisis, they weren\u2019t held accountable. They were bailed out and propped up.29<\/sup>\u00a0So bear in mind that when the friends of these bankers and other billionaire special interests attack unions, they don\u2019t really believe in \u201caccountability\u201d in any real sense. They just want to destroy the ability of unions to be a check on their unfettered power.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing for business owners or the government to disagree with labor unions about wages and other aspects of a contract negotiation. But attacks on the very existence of labor unions is a hallmark of fascism, as philosophy professor Jason Stanley explains. \u201cAntipathy to labor unions is such a major theme of fascist politics that fascism cannot be fully comprehended without an understanding of it,\u201d writes Stanley.30<\/sup><\/p>\n

\u201cFascism is most effective in times of severe economic inequality,\u201d explains journalist Spencer Bokat-Lindell.31<\/sup>\u00a0But fascism also relies on individuals in society feeling isolated, what philosopher Hannah Arendt called being \u201catomized.\u201d32<\/sup>\u00a0After all, when we don\u2019t know our neighbors, it\u2019s easier for fascist propaganda to turn us against each other. Unions show how our fates are linked and not only deliver better material conditions but make people feel connected to each other and engaged in their lives, jobs, and communities. Labor unions \u201cpromote solidarity across differences that fascism depends on exploiting,\u201d writes Bokat-Lindell.33<\/sup><\/p>\n

\"Why<\/h3>\n

Unions Strengthen the Middle Class\u2014and Democracy<\/h3>\n

When unions are strong, America\u2019s middle class is strong, too. Between 1985 and 2011, when the proportion of union membership in the United States dropped by 8 percent, the number of middle-class households in the United States also dropped by 8 percent.34<\/sup>\u00a0In fact, between 1973 and 2007, data show that anywhere from one-fifth to as much as one-third of the growth in economic inequality in the United States can be attributed to declines in union membership\u2014\u201can effect comparable to the growing stratification of wages by education.\u201d35<\/sup><\/p>\n

Yet as economic inequality has skyrocketed, and exploitation by billionaires and big business has skyrocketed, support for unions has risen. In 2024, 7 out of 10 Americans had a favorable view of unions\u2014nearly the highest approval rating in 60 years.36<\/sup>\u00a0In fact, as confidence in every other major American institution\u2014from the criminal justice system to Congress to TV news to the military\u2014has fallen, trust in unions has increased.37<\/sup><\/p>\n

Unions build the middle class. And unions also build democracy. Historian Heather Cox Richardson talks about how \u201cregular people having agency\u201d is fundamentally disruptive to the fascist agenda that puts all power in a singular authoritarian leader.38<\/sup>\u00a0She adds that \u201cpeople feeling as if they have agency and taking a stand for their rights\u201d is the point of democracy. It\u2019s also the point of the labor movement. Instead of feeling isolated and \u201catomized\u201d and outside of decision-making\u2014where resentment and even conspiracy theories can fester\u2014union members feel integral to systems of power and clear on their own power to make change. That\u2019s good for all of us as individuals and good for our nation as a whole. Unions practice democracy internally by voting on leadership and contract negotiations. And they strengthen democracy in our nation not only by endorsing candidates but by encouraging people to vote. Union membership increases civic participation. In swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, an estimated one in five voters is a union member, and research shows that union members are at least 3 to 5 percent more likely to vote than nonunion members.39<\/sup><\/p>\n

Political scientists Patrick Flavin and Benjamin Radcliff explain that belonging to a union is a form of \u201cpolitical participation in the workplace\u201d that \u201ctranslates beyond just the workplace and increases a member\u2019s likelihood of becoming involved in the political process and, ultimately, voting.\u201d40<\/sup>\u00a0But just like unions boost wages for all workers, not just union members, unions boost rates of voting for all Americans. Even nonunion members living in states with strong unions are more likely to vote.41<\/sup>\u00a0Plus, of course, unions take all that agency and engagement and voice and use it to fight for what our communities need. That\u2019s especially true for unions that represent teachers, which fight not only for members in negotiations over wages and benefits but also for what our students need to succeed. And it\u2019s what our nurse locals are also starting to do in our Code Red campaign for patients\u2014raising the alarm about staffing shortages in healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

Voting is the first step in protecting democracy and opportunity, but creating and joining unions is even more powerful for working people\u2014because collective power is the true antidote to authoritarianism. As the labor strategist Michael Podhorzer puts it, \u201cVoting is like going to a restaurant and choosing between entrees on the menu. Collective power is like sitting at the table deciding what\u2019s on the menu.\u201d42<\/sup>\u00a0In a true democracy, more and more people have power not just in elections but in deciding how the economy and business and schools and every aspect of society are governed and run. That\u2019s the power of unions. And that\u2019s what truly threatens fascists.<\/p>\n

The good news is that unions in the United States are growing, surging in both numbers and popularity. As I\u2019ve already noted, support for unions has grown as Americans have become frustrated by the rise of billionaires and mega-corporations and fed up with leaders like Donald Trump who keep giving more tax cuts and privileges to the super-rich while squeezing the middle class. And unionization has grown, too. In 2021, there were 1,638 groups of employees filing paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board seeking elections to form new unions. But in 2022, 2,510 such petitions were filed\u2014a 53 percent increase.43<\/sup>\u00a0Meanwhile, between 2022 and 2024, the AFT organized 185 new bargaining units across the fields of education, healthcare, and public services.44<\/sup><\/p>\n

Authoritarians and the far right fear unions building power because that power is used to make people\u2019s lives better\u2014to rebuild the middle class and ensure that more and more people have access to the American dream. Plus, union power is used to increase wages and pensions and health insurance and other benefits.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"WhyWhile we don\u2019t yet know everything Trump will do\u2014or try to do\u2014in his second term as president, we know that prioritizing the billionaire class at the expense of ordinary Americans amounts to a great betrayal from the man who sold himself during the election as the savior of the working class. In his farewell address, President Biden issued an urgent\u2014and accurate\u2014warning: \u201cToday, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.\u201d45<\/sup><\/p>\n

Americans want a better life and more opportunity, not less. They want to be treated with dignity and respect, and they want the same for others, too. From my lifetime of working with Americans across the political spectrum, I know this to be true. We are in a profoundly consequential fight between fear and hope, between anger and aspiration, between chaos and community. And I know, with every fiber of my being, that hope and aspiration and community always win\u2014when we fight for them. Yes, the story of America has included too many dark chapters enabled by our worst impulses. But what makes our nation great isn\u2019t that we\u2019ve always been perfect but that we have fought for justice and have learned from our mistakes\u2014that just as our forebearers forged a new nation to improve upon the one they fought for freedom, so too did our grandparents and our great-grandparents fight to make America more just, more fair, more equitable, more inclusive. An America of boundless opportunity. An America where the next generation has a pathway to the American dream. Just like we, in this moment, must fight for those values and that vision\u2014and educate our children and grandchildren so that they, too, can continue to write the story of America that continues to reach toward hope and aspiration and opportunity and liberty and justice for all.<\/p>\n

\n

Randi Weingarten, JD, is the president of the AFT. Prior to her election in 2008, she served for 11 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2. A teacher of history at Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn from 1991 to 1997, Weingarten helped her students win several state and national awards debating constitutional issues. Widely recognized as a champion of public schools and a better life for all people, her commendations include being named to\u00a0<\/em>Washingtonian\u2019s 2023 Most Influential People in Washington and\u00a0<\/em>City & State New York\u2019s 2021 New York City Labor Power 100. This article was excerpted with permission from Randi Weingarten\u2019s new book,\u00a0<\/em>Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy, published in September 2025 by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Weingarten is donating half of her proceeds from the book to the AFT\u2019s Disaster Relief Fund and Educational Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Endnotes<\/h4>\n

1. C. Megerian, \u201cAt Mich. Chip Plant, Biden Says Unions \u2018Built Middle Class,\u2019\u201d Associated Press, November 29, 2022,\u00a0apnews.com\/article\/gretchen-whitmer-biden-technology-government-and-politics-michigan-4d5ac5a4bec5a2e61b4567639240d97c<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. L. Feiveson, \u201cLabor Unions and the U.S. Economy,\u201d US Department of the Treasury, August 28, 2023,\u00a0home.treasury.gov\/news\/featured-stories\/labor-unions-and-the-us-economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. History.com, \u201cSlavery in America,\u201d April 25, 2024, updated January 14, 2025,\u00a0history.com\/topics\/black-history\/slavery<\/a>; and Brown University, \u201cColonial Enslavement of Native Americans Included Those Who Surrendered, Too,\u201d February 15, 2017,\u00a0brown.edu\/news\/2017-02-15\/enslavement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. National Education Association, \u201cHistory of the National Education Association and the U.S. Labor Movement,\u201d July 2025,\u00a0nea.org\/advocating-for-change\/new-from-nea\/history-national-education-association-and-us-labor-movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

5. AFL-CIO, \u201cLowell Mill Women Create the First Union of Working Women,\u201d\u00a0aflcio.org\/about\/history\/labor-history-events\/lowell-mill-women-form-union<\/a>.<\/p>\n

6. A. Shashkevich, \u201cStanford Project Gives Voice to Chinese Workers Who Helped Build the Transcontinental Railroad,\u201d\u00a0Stanford Report<\/em>, Stanford University, April 9, 2019,\u00a0news.stanford.edu\/stories\/2019\/04\/giving-voice-to-chinese-railroad-workers<\/a>; and C. Fuchs, \u201c150 Years Ago, Chinese Railroad Workers Risked Their Lives in Pursuit of the American Dream,\u201d NBC News, April 24, 2019,\u00a0nbcnews.com\/news\/asian-america\/150-years-ago-chinese-railroad-workers-risked-their-lives-pursuit-n992751<\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. J. Sahadi, \u201cWhy Do We Work 9 to 5? The History of the Eight-Hour Workday,\u201d CNN, September 9, 2023,\u00a0cnn.com\/2023\/09\/09\/success\/work-culture-9-to-5-curious-consumer\/index.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

8. M. Schuman, \u201cHistory of Child Labor in the United States\u2014Part 1: Little Children Working,\u201d\u00a0Monthly Labor Review<\/em>, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, January 2017,\u00a0bls.gov\/opub\/mlr\/2017\/article\/history-of-child-labor-in-the-united-states-part-1.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

9. H. Markel, \u201cHow the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Transformed Labor Laws and Protected Workers\u2019 Health,\u201d PBS News, March 31, 2021,\u00a0pbs.org\/newshour\/nation\/how-the-triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-transformed-labor-laws-and-protected-workers-health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

10. S. Donovan,\u00a0The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): An Overview<\/em>\u00a0(Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, US Congress, March 8, 2023),\u00a0crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R42713<\/a>.<\/p>\n

11. J. MacLaury, \u201cThe Job Safety Law of 1970: Its Passage Was Perilous,\u201d\u00a0Monthly Labor Review<\/em>, US Department of Labor, March 1981,\u00a0dol.gov\/general\/aboutdol\/history\/osha<\/a>.<\/p>\n

12. National Archives, \u201cMilestone Documents: National Labor Relations Act (1935),\u201d\u00a0archives.gov\/milestone-documents\/national-labor-relations-act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

13. National Labor Relations Board, \u201cNational Labor Relations Act,\u201d\u00a0nlrb.gov\/guidance\/key-reference-materials\/national-labor-relations-act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

14. National Labor Relations Board, \u201cNational Labor Relations Act\u201d; and Center for Labor and a Just Economy, \u201cSection 1: Building Worker Power in Cities & States: State Constitutions and Public Sector Collective Bargaining Rights,\u201d in\u00a0Building Worker Power in Cities & States<\/em>\u00a0(Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law School, September 1, 2024),\u00a0clje.law.harvard.edu\/publication\/building-worker-power-in-cities-states\/state-constitutions-and-public-sector-collective-bargaining-rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

15. US Department of the Treasury,\u00a0Labor Unions and the Middle Class<\/em>\u00a0(Washington, DC: August 2023),\u00a0home.treasury.gov\/system\/files\/136\/Labor-Unions-And-The-Middle-Class.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

16. A. Banerjee et al.,\u00a0Unions Are Not Only Good for Workers, They\u2019re Good for Communities and for Democracy<\/em>\u00a0(Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, December 15, 2021),\u00a0epi.org\/publication\/unions-and-well-being<\/a>.<\/p>\n

17. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, \u201cUnion Workers More Likely Than Nonunion Workers to Have Retirement Benefits in 2019,\u201d\u00a0The Economics Daily<\/em>, US Department of Labor, October 25, 2019,\u00a0bls.gov\/opub\/ted\/2019\/union-workers-more-likely-than-nonunion-workers-to-have-retirement-benefits-in-2019.htm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

18. Banerjee\u00a0et\u00a0al.,\u00a0Unions\u00a0Are\u00a0Not\u00a0Only\u00a0Good\u00a0for\u00a0Workers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

19. US Department of the Treasury,\u00a0Labor Unions and the Middle Class<\/em>.<\/p>\n

20. J. Hardisty,\u00a0Mobilizing Resentment: Conservative Resurgence from the John Birch Society to the Promise Keepers\u00a0<\/em>(Boston: Beacon Press, 1999),\u00a0archive.org\/details\/mobilizingresent0000hard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

21. Agence France Presse, \u201cMusk\u2019s Millions for Trump Make Him Biggest US Political Donor,\u201d\u00a0Barron\u2019s<\/em>, December 6, 2024,\u00a0barrons.com\/news\/musk-s-millions-for-trump-make-him-biggest-us-political-donor-134ebd08<\/a>.<\/p>\n

22. S.\u00a0Greenhouse,\u00a0\u201cElon\u00a0Musk\u00a0Says\u00a0Letting\u00a0Workers\u00a0Unionize Creates \u2018Lords and Peasants.\u2019 What?,\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0Guardian,\u00a0<\/em>December 20, 2023,\u00a0theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2023\/dec\/20\/elon-musk-unions-tesla.<\/a><\/p>\n

23. Reuters, \u201cElon Musk Broke Law with Threat to Tesla Workers\u2019 Stock Options, Court Rules,\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0Guardian<\/em>, March 31, 2023,\u00a0theguardian.com\/technology\/2023\/apr\/01\/elon-musk-broke-law-with-threat-to-tesla-workers-stock-options-court-rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n

24. CNBC Television, \u201cElon Musk: I Disagree with the Idea of Unions,\u201d YouTube, November 29, 2023, 02:50,\u00a0youtube.com\/watch?v=sctgA2qa-rA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

25. Greenhouse,\u00a0\u201cElon\u00a0Musk\u00a0Says.\u201d<\/p>\n

26. N. Naughton and G. Kay, \u201cTesla Workers Still Make Less Than Those at Ford and GM, Even After Raises,\u201d\u00a0Business Insider<\/em>, February 9, 2024,\u00a0businessinsider.com\/tesla-pay-vs-ford-gm-uaw-union-factory-workers-2024-2?op=1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

27. Justia, \u201cSpace\u00a0Exploration\u00a0Technologies\u00a0Corp.\u00a0v.\u00a0National\u00a0Labor Relations Board et al, No. 6:2024cv00203\u2014Document 43 (W.D. Tex. 2024),\u201d\u00a0law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/district-courts\/texas\/txwdce\/6:2024cv00203\/1172784245\/43<\/a>.<\/p>\n

28. A. Hsu, \u201cAccused of Violating Worker Rights, SpaceX and Amazon Go After Labor Board,\u201d NPR, November 18, 2024,\u00a0npr.org\/2024\/11\/18\/nx-s1-5192918\/spacex-amazon-nlrb-labor-board-elon-musk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

29. P. Kiel, \u201cThe Bailout Was 11 Years Ago. We\u2019re Still Tracking Every Penny,\u201d ProPublica, October 3, 2019,\u00a0propublica.org\/article\/the-bailout-was-11-years-ago-were-still-tracking-every-penny<\/a>.<\/p>\n

30. J. Stanley,\u00a0How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them\u00a0<\/em>(New York: Random House, 2018), 171.<\/p>\n

31. S. Bokat-Lindell, \u201cFascism: A Concern,\u201d\u00a0New York Times<\/em>, July 30, 2020,\u00a0nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/30\/opinion\/fascism-us.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

32. H. Arendt,\u00a0Essays in Understanding, 1930\u20131954<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Knopf Doubleday, 2011).<\/p>\n

33. Bokat-Lindell, \u201cFascism: A Concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

34. E. Robinson, \u201cDo Unions Boost the Middle Class?,\u201d\u00a0Chicago Booth Review<\/em>, December 9, 2015,\u00a0chicagobooth.edu\/review\/do-unions-boost-the-middle-class<\/a>.<\/p>\n

35. B. Western and J. Rosenfeld, \u201cUnions, Norms, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality,\u201d\u00a0American Sociological Review<\/em>\u00a076, no. 4 (2011): 513\u201337.<\/p>\n

36. AFGE, \u201cNew Gallup Poll: 70% of Americans Approve of Labor Unions,\u201d September 3, 2024,\u00a0afge.org\/article\/new-gallup-poll-70-of-americans-approve-of-labor-unions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

37. M. Podhorzer, \u201cAs Go Unions, So Goes America,\u201d\u00a0Weekend Reading\u00a0<\/em>(blog), September 3, 2024,\u00a0weekendreading.net\/p\/as-go-unions-so-goes-america<\/a>.<\/p>\n

38. M. Boyer, \u201cAFT Book Club: Heather Cox Richardson on the Future of Democracy,\u201d AFT, October 22, 2024,\u00a0aft.org\/news\/aft-book-club-heather-cox-richardson-future-democracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

39. A. Hsu, \u201cLabor Unions Make a Final Push Canvassing Door to Door in Swing States,\u201d NPR, October 28, 2024,\u00a0npr.org\/2024\/10\/28\/nx-s1-5159947\/labor-unions-make-a-final-push-canvassing-door-to-door-in-swing-states<\/a>; and T. Wang,\u00a0Union Impact on Voter Participation\u2014and How to Expand It<\/em>\u00a0(Cambridge, MA: Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School, June 2020),\u00a0ash.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/300871_hvd_ash_union_impact_v2.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

40. Wang,\u00a0Union\u00a0Impact\u00a0on\u00a0Voter\u00a0Participation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

41. Wang,\u00a0Union\u00a0Impact\u00a0on\u00a0Voter\u00a0Participation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

42. Podhorzer,\u00a0\u201cAs\u00a0Go\u00a0Unions.\u201d<\/p>\n

43. Office of Public Affairs, \u201cElection Petitions Up 53%, Board Continues to Reduce Case Processing Time in FY22,\u201d National Labor Relations Board, October 6, 2022,\u00a0nlrb.gov\/news-outreach\/news-story\/election-petitions-up-53-board-continues-to-reduce-case-processing-time-in<\/a>.<\/p>\n

44. AFT, \u201cIn Address to Union, AFT\u2019s Weingarten Champions Real Solutions for a Better Life, Celebrates Historic 1.8 Million-Member Milestone,\u201d July 22, 2024,\u00a0aft.org\/press-release\/address-union-afts-weingarten-champions-real-solutions-better-life-celebrates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

45.\u00a0New York Times<\/em>, \u201cFull Transcript of President Biden\u2019s Farewell Address,\u201d January 15, 2025,\u00a0nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/15\/us\/politics\/full-transcript-of-president-bidens-farewell-address.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

AFT Health Care,\u00a0Fall 2025<\/em><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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