Erik Loomis

And so you had a scenario in which wages for private sector workers and union rights were declining and government workers were winning these great contracts and they were rising. And so there was a lot of anger among kind of a general public that fed into this larger anti-government backlash. about greedy public sector workers. And the air traffic controllers kind of summarize that.

And so you had a scenario in which wages for private sector workers and union rights were declining and government workers were winning these great contracts and they were rising. And so there was a lot of anger among kind of a general public that fed into this larger anti-government backlash. about greedy public sector workers. And the air traffic controllers kind of summarize that.

So they go on strike against Reagan. And Reagan, even though he had appreciated their support, was like, this is an attack on me. It was technically illegal. And so he fires them all.

So they go on strike against Reagan. And Reagan, even though he had appreciated their support, was like, this is an attack on me. It was technically illegal. And so he fires them all.

And the AFL-CIO had begged PAC co-leadership to not do this. They knew what Reagan stood for. Reagan did not respond well to people trying to bully him. Um, and, uh, They didn't care. And this is when I think we have to push back a little bit on some of the rhetoric that's very popular on the left today when we talk about unions, because it's ideology. It's not really rooted in fact sometimes.

And the AFL-CIO had begged PAC co-leadership to not do this. They knew what Reagan stood for. Reagan did not respond well to people trying to bully him. Um, and, uh, They didn't care. And this is when I think we have to push back a little bit on some of the rhetoric that's very popular on the left today when we talk about unions, because it's ideology. It's not really rooted in fact sometimes.

And some of this is the more democratic a union is and militant it is, the more successful it will be. Just empirically, that is not the case. PACA was a very militant union, a democratic union that had overthrown its own leadership for not being militant enough. And they lead a strike that is an unmitigated disaster and that then emboldens the entire private sector.

And some of this is the more democratic a union is and militant it is, the more successful it will be. Just empirically, that is not the case. PACA was a very militant union, a democratic union that had overthrown its own leadership for not being militant enough. And they lead a strike that is an unmitigated disaster and that then emboldens the entire private sector.

to realize that they can act toward their unions like Reagan acted toward the air traffic controllers, and they start doing the same thing, and the 80s become a catastrophic decade for the labor movement.

to realize that they can act toward their unions like Reagan acted toward the air traffic controllers, and they start doing the same thing, and the 80s become a catastrophic decade for the labor movement.

Strikes basically go from, you know, in the 70s, really tremendously common, huge strikes the whole decade, to almost nothing by the end of the 80s, through the 90s, and really through the 2000s as well. You need to be scared to strike. You got to be smart about these things. This isn't something to romanticize.

Strikes basically go from, you know, in the 70s, really tremendously common, huge strikes the whole decade, to almost nothing by the end of the 80s, through the 90s, and really through the 2000s as well. You need to be scared to strike. You got to be smart about these things. This isn't something to romanticize.

It's a strategy that's a very intense strategy that can work and can be transformative, but could also be utterly disastrous. And I think honest discussions of the labor movement.

It's a strategy that's a very intense strategy that can work and can be transformative, but could also be utterly disastrous. And I think honest discussions of the labor movement.

and honest discussions of striking are really necessary on a broader left today that, frankly, too often romanticizes things and reverts to talking points rather than deal with the messiness of Americans and their various and often contradictory politics that do not lead to wide-scale class solidarity in this country.

and honest discussions of striking are really necessary on a broader left today that, frankly, too often romanticizes things and reverts to talking points rather than deal with the messiness of Americans and their various and often contradictory politics that do not lead to wide-scale class solidarity in this country.

Yeah. I mean, I think a great example is the United Farm Workers boycott of grapes in the 60s and 70s, right? I mean, this is an epic, legendary struggle that really is from a very small set of workers. I mean, these are pretty disempowered farmers.

Yeah. I mean, I think a great example is the United Farm Workers boycott of grapes in the 60s and 70s, right? I mean, this is an epic, legendary struggle that really is from a very small set of workers. I mean, these are pretty disempowered farmers.

Mostly Mexican-American, but at that point still a lot of Filipinos as well out in California who were picking grapes and asparagus and lettuce and other crops in really awful, terrible conditions. People are dying of heat stroke and pesticide poisoning and all kinds of other terrible things. And, you know, there's –

Mostly Mexican-American, but at that point still a lot of Filipinos as well out in California who were picking grapes and asparagus and lettuce and other crops in really awful, terrible conditions. People are dying of heat stroke and pesticide poisoning and all kinds of other terrible things. And, you know, there's –