Interrogating the interaction of race, gender, and class within U.S. labor movement revitalization efforts

Abstract

Synopsis This article engages the subject of labor movement ‘revitalization’ in the United States (U.S.), and considers the integrated challenge of building the representation and leadership base of females of color in labor organizations. The project methodology draws on participant data gathered from the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Union Summer program — a national campaign that brought mostly college student interns to work on campaigns throughout the U.S. beginning in 1996. The author finds that the AFL-CIO was unable to maintain longer-term commitment or ‘buy-in’ from most activists of color as subsequent labor movement actors. Furthermore, working class females generally, and working class females of color particularly, were very under-represented among those retained as emergent activists. The study highlights the need for strenuous consideration of the racial and gender dynamics entrenched in labor movement culture.