A Feminist Political Economy Critique of ‘the Militant Minority’

Abstract

Recent growth in strike activity in the United States and Canada has motivated a broad scholarship on union organizing and labour movement revitalization. However, researchers and activists particularly concerned with the role of member mobilization in union renewal have downplayed institutional changes to labour law and regulation which might address the decline of union density and worker power. This commentary offers a feminist political economy critique of recent works on ‘the rank and file strategy’ and ‘the militant minority’ by arguing that greater focus should be devoted to how North American labour law and decentralized bargaining continue to impede union renewal. The article briefly traces the gendered legacy of ‘Wagnerism’ and the latter’s growing incompatibility with contemporary workplaces and forms of employment. It then makes the case for thinking through how organizing could also push for labour law reform, particularly towards broader-based, sectoral forms of collective bargaining and labour market regulation.