What's Happening?
Kate Bronfenbrenner, a prominent labor scholar, recently retired from Cornell University after four decades of research into union campaigns, employer opposition, and global corporate restructuring. Her work has significantly shaped the contemporary labor movement's
approach to organizing and strategic corporate research. Bronfenbrenner's studies, which began with a national study of union organizing for the AFL-CIO, focused on understanding how workers successfully form unions and how employers attempt to prevent it. She meticulously tracked organizing drives, interviewing lead organizers and reconstructing campaigns to identify effective tactics. Her findings emphasized that union tactics, such as building strong rank-and-file organizations, utilizing representative committees, and employing escalating pressure tactics, are more influential in determining success than employer behavior. This year, her Strategic Corporate Research Summer School program, which trained generations of union researchers and organizers, moved to CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies under the direction of Stephanie Luce, ensuring its continuation.
Why It's Important?
Bronfenbrenner's research has provided a critical framework for understanding the dynamics of union organizing in the United States. By demonstrating that union tactics are a primary determinant of success, her work empowered unions to refine their strategies and improve their win rates. This is particularly important in a landscape where employer opposition to unionization is often strong. Her emphasis on internal union practices, such as the composition of organizing staff and the involvement of rank-and-file members, highlighted areas where unions could make internal improvements to increase their effectiveness. The continuation of her training program at CUNY ensures that future generations of labor organizers and researchers will benefit from her methodologies and insights, potentially leading to more successful unionization efforts and a stronger labor movement. This ongoing influence can impact labor relations, worker rights, and economic equity across various U.S. industries.
What's Next?
The Strategic Corporate Research Summer School, now housed at CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies, will continue to train union researchers and organizers. This transition ensures that Bronfenbrenner's methodologies and insights will remain accessible and influential within the labor movement. The program's continued operation suggests a sustained focus on data-driven strategies for unionization, potentially leading to more sophisticated and effective organizing campaigns in the future. As new cohorts of organizers are trained, it is likely that the principles of building strong rank-and-file organizations, utilizing diverse organizing teams, and employing strategic pressure tactics will be further integrated into union practices. This could lead to an evolution in how unions approach organizing, potentially increasing their success rates in certification elections and first contract negotiations across various sectors of the U.S. economy.
Beyond the Headlines
Bronfenbrenner's work delves into the less obvious implications of union organizing by highlighting the internal dynamics and strategic choices within unions themselves. While acknowledging the challenges posed by employer opposition and weak labor laws, she consistently underscored the agency of unions in shaping their own success. Her research also brought to light the significant impact of diversity within organizing teams, noting that campaigns led by women and organizers of color had substantially higher win rates. This finding has profound ethical and cultural implications for the labor movement, suggesting that inclusive organizing practices are not only morally sound but also strategically advantageous. By systematically asking about race and gender in her surveys, Bronfenbrenner pushed for a deeper understanding of how demographic factors intersect with organizing outcomes, fostering a more nuanced and effective approach to labor activism in the U.S.
