Many, many words have been written about how Scott Walker's victory in the Wisconsin recall election shows that labor no longer wields electoral power. But while there's no question that unions don't have the strength in numbers they once did, Andrew Levison of The Democratic Strategist looks at how financially outmatched Democrats and progressives are and concludes that the key to success is building "powerful, long-term grass-roots organizations" along the lines of unions, organizations that have roots in communities and don't just show up for long enough to convince people to vote, then leave.



It was the neighborhood and shop-floor representation provided by local unions and precinct level democratic machines that provided a firm social and political base for the Democratic Party in the northern and mid-western industrial states in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. [...] As a result, the most important political initiative in America this year will not be any quickly thrown-together GOTV effort or additional political canvassing funded by liberal donors; it will be the organizing campaign that most faithfully and successfully builds on the traditional, grass-roots trade union model.

It does not view them simply as voters that the organization wants to turn out on Election Day, it views them as members who it wants to represent on a permanent and ongoing basis. More than anything else it is this that distinguishes an authentic grass-roots organization and social movement from the outreach efforts of a political campaign. The role of an authentic grass-roots organization is not merely to collect signatures on a particular petition or to increase voter turnout. To succeed it must give its members the tools to actively represent themselves on an ongoing basis and to provide inspiration and a sense of hope and confidence in the members own power of collective action.

If not unions, who will do that? Levison sees that model being carried out most faithfully by Working America . Since Working America (where—disclosure—I once worked) is a project of traditional unions, it is in the position to learn from their strengths even as it tries something quite different, reaching out to people who aren't union members and talking to them about economic issues, asking them to join and take action. Levison stresses that what distinguishes Working America is this engagement not just with electoral politics but with communities, and in an ongoing way:Working America has been working on this project since 2003, with significant success but mostly under the radar. It's possible that Levison's claim that it's "the most important political project in America" is hyperbole, but if so, it's nice to see some hyperbole boosting a labor project rather than tearing the movement down, for a change.

For lots more news about workers and their struggles, continue reading below the fold.