That is the subject of the latest issue of The Forum, which should be ungated here (although you may need to register). Here’s the line-up:
* Nick Salvatore, “A Brief Ascendency: American Labor After 1945.”
* Fred Siegel, “The Most Powerful Political Force in the Country.”
* Peter Francia, “Do Unions Still Matter in U.S. Elections? Assessing Labor’s Political Power and Significance.”
* Terry Moe, “Teachers Unions and American Education Reform: The Politics of Blocking.”
* Martin West, Michael Henderson, and Paul Peterson, “The Education Iron Triangle.”
* Janice Fine and Daniel Tichenor, “Solidarities and Restrictions: Labor and Immigration Policy in the United States.”
* John Ahlquist, “Public Sector Unions Need the Private Sector or Why the Wisconsin Protests Were Not Labor’s Lazarus Moment.”
* Chris Rhomberg, “The Return of Judicial Repression: What Has Happened to the Strike?”
* David Weil, “‘Broken Windows,’ Vulnerable Workers, and the Future of Worker Representation.”
* Graham Wilson, “American Unions in Comparative Perspective.”