Are labor unions a subject for political theory? What would it be to provide such a theory? Many of the conceptual staples of the labor movement — solidarity, common interest, economic leverage — are relatively concrete, functioning largely as practical and instrumental ideas. At the same time, the abstract discourse of political theory and philosophy has made minimal space for this ubiquitous form of political organization that has, indisputably, shaped political outcomes across modern history. How might we bring together reflections on the interests of workers, class formation, critiques of capitalism, and ideas of freedom? Could such a theory be useful for agents of change, including rank and file workers, labor leaders, and union organizers?

Although unions are at a nadir of power, signs of the possibility of renewal and transformation abound: from cracks in neoliberal hegemony to increasingly favorable views of unions, from the revitalization of quiescent unions by insurgent rank and file movements to creative organizing happening outside traditional union structures. What institutional structures, political visions, and organizing strategies might seize the opportunities of the present conjuncture? How might they shape possibilities of collective action and working-class identification? How do different contending visions of the working class affect opportunities for building solidarity across racial, gender, and occupational difference? How can we act on strategic imperatives to build and exercise power in ways that harmonize with democratic commitments? These questions are often asked at a local level in the context of one discipline or organizing campaign. This project will link the theoretical, the empirical, and the historical by bringing together scholars from history, sociology, law, political science, and philosophy as well as labor organizers to think about the past, present, and future of the labor movement. A conference organized as a series of panels will focus on a central issue of both strategy and emancipatory vision, including associational and structural power, leadership and representation, unions and party politics, images and rhetoric of labor, and diverse traditions of organizing. By staging these interdisciplinary conversations, we will try to move in two directions: from the concrete to the abstract and back again.

This project is supported by the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society and the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights at the University of Chicago.