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A lively and informed argument that highlights the continuing importance of unions in both shaping the economy and inspiring social and political activism

From the coffee shop to the college quad, the trade union idea is once again alive as a new American generation discovers that working-class collective action offers a pathway to both economic security and the fulfillment of some of their most expansive aspirations. Using contemporary accounts drawn from his own interviews and reporting, Nelson Lichtenstein shows why trade unionism matters in a world where, even in West Virginia, Walmart employees far outnumber coal miners, where baristas exhibit more militancy than construction workers, and where the very definition of who is a worker and who is a boss has been legally, organizationally, and managerially transformed so as to render contemporary labor law largely ineffectual.

Lichtenstein demonstrates how a militant and expansive unionism can subvert and limit authoritarianism not just in the workplace but also in the public sphere. He shows how such trade unions can raise income, reduce racial and gender inequalities, and mobilize workers to become more socially and politically active. Why Labor Unions Matter also reveals how general strikes, from San Francisco to Gdansk and Sao Paulo, have been crucial to the replacement of authoritarian regimes with a radically transformative democracy.