The Resurgence of Labor as Citizenship Movement in the New Labor Relations Environment

Abstract

This paper reviews the broad relevance of “citizenship” for theory and practice in labor relations. It introduces the notion of “citizenship movement” as a particular type of social movement uniquely related to the development of public life. It argues that several strands of labor movement revival in the United States are members of this family of social movement. These include public service unionism, education and health care unionisms, immigrant worker movements, community-based organizing campaigns, temp unionism, living wage campaigns and campaigns to defend local communities from corporate cutbacks and plant closures. In the global age, it observes, these and related democratic social movements converge in the defense and reconstruction of local communities.