History Club

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What happened to America’s labor unions?

Corporations, elected officials, the media and white-collar workers have contributed to the decline of American labor

Jason Steinhauer's avatar
Jason Steinhauer
Sep 02, 2021
∙ Paid
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) protest against apparel imports, April 1983. Source: Library of Congress.

Earlier this summer my wife and I went to an outdoor party at a neighbor’s house. At the event was an older gentleman who’d recently lost his wife. He was in a reflective mood, so we struck up a conversation. It turned out he’d s…

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