Development of the Labor Movement ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

The American Labor Movement was directly or partially responsible for enormous changes in American society in the twentieth century. Unions raised the wages, improved the living standards and increased the opportunities for millions of workers from diverse backgrounds and communities across the country. While the overall record is far from perfect, many unions supported the Civil Rights movement and other social justice causes, struggled to protect workers in the face of sweeping changes in the national and international political economy, and encouraged individuals to participate actively in the civic and political life of the nation. Indeed, to study the US labor movement is not just to study union organizing, collective bargaining, and labor legislation. It is to study how it has impacted the way workers lived their lives, and how it has shaped the role a diverse working class has played in the making of American society and American democracy. Students will analyze the history of Labor in NYC as a particular example. This course is offered in-person at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City.