Could Sisyphus Have Tried Harder? Reflections on the Sweeney Administration’s Efforts at Mass Organizing, Thirty Years Later| Lane Windham in New Labor Forum

On December 19, 2024, Amazon delivery driver Jogernsyn Cardenas stopped his van to join the strike in Queens, New York and was arrested. Photo: Luis Feliz Leon

Lane Windham’s latest piece is “Could Sisyphus Have Tried Harder? Reflections on the Sweeney Administration’s Efforts at Mass Organizing, 30 Years Later” in the latest New Labor Forum.

Despite a massive surge in organizing interest in recent years, union membership numbers still haven’t moved, and few new workers are under contract. Making sense of what went wrong in organizing in the Sweeney years can offer clues about the labor movement’s best next steps. Windham reflects on whether the purpose of organizing is to increase union membership, or to rebuild a working-class movement that can effectively make life better for the vast majority of working people.

The article is behind a paywall, reach out to KILWP [@] Georgetown.edu for a pre-publication version

Read the full Article in New Labor Forum on Sage Journals