Principles of Trade Unionism ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

This course is not simply an introduction into how unions work and the benefits they bring to working people. While these matters will be covered, the heart of the course will be an in depth and critical exploration, using important concepts and methods of social sciences, of the foundational principles of trade unionism. A few of these come easily to mind: solidarity; an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work; the right to collectively bargain over terms and conditions of work. Other “principles” can be more complicated, extending beyond a particular group of workers and workplaces to more general economic, political, and cultural realms: unions as institutions of broad class solidarity and collective power, engaged in a struggle for a just and democratic society. Too often these days, unions are cast as a special interest group, out only for themselves. This course will shift that narrative by re-discovering the labor movement as a social movement. It is also only offered in-class at the college’s Harry J. Van Arsdale Jr. School for Labor Studies in New York City. Prerequisites: .