The labor scene: Links and comments 8/30/13

Here are some good articles for reading on Labor Day weekend.

Our Sad, Misunderstood Labor Unions by David Macaray for Counterpunch.

Labor unions are the only organizations whose purpose is to defend the rights of working people.  Why, then, have they gotten such a bad name?

Reversing the Labor Movement’s Free Fall by Stanley Aronowitz in Logos.

Aronowitz argues that labor unions must go beyond collective bargaining and champion the interests of working people across the board.

The AFL-CIO’s New Strategy by Shamus Cooke for Counterpunch.

While the AFL-CIO leadership recognizes the need for new strategy and tactics, it is limited by its commitment to the Democratic Party and the anti-union Obama administration.

Productivity Rose 7.7 Percent Post-Recession; Workers Have Seen None of It by David Dayen for Naked Capitalism.

The decline of labor unions is turning the United States into a low-wage nation.

Workers Greatest Power Over Owners and Bosses? The Ability to Stop Work and Walk Out by James Cersonski for AlterNet.

Largest fast food strike ever: 58 cities will be affected by Joseph Eidelson for Salon.

Workers in the fast-food industry use strikes to protest unfair treatment and low wages rather than waiting until they can negotiate contracts.

Fast Food, Retail Worker Strikes Do Honor to King Legacy by David Dayen for Naked Capitalism.

Martin Luther King’s 1963 speech was given for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and he was murdered while in Memphis, Tenn., to support a strike by municipal garbage collectors.   If he were alive, he would support union organizers of low-wage workers and strikers against low-wage companies.

Five reasons for optimism about labor unions this Labor Day by John Logan for The Hill.

Tags: AFL-CIO, Labor Unions, Productivity, Real Wages, Strikes, Wages