New labour, alt-labour Believe it or not, the union movement is starting to embrace innovation

The Economist:

THERE was plenty of red meat on offer to the 5,000 delegates at this week's AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles. Speakers proclaimed class war, bashed corporations and trade deals, and demanded fresh taxes on the rich. One, to much cheering, threatened to punch the conservative Koch brothers in the face.

America's largest trade-union grouping, with 57 affiliated unions and 12m members, convenes just once every four years; such jamborees are an opportunity to let off steam. But this year there was furrowed-brow introspection mixed with the tub-thumping. Richard Trumka, the AFL-CIO president, said the labour movement was in "crisis" and urged delegates to avoid the temptation of blaming outsiders.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 13, 2013 12:21 AM
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