New York has dense, seemingly powerful public sector unions that have been more or less inept at stopping the neoliberal restructuring of the city since the '70s. What happened? We examine the history of New York’s public sector unions from the militant, social movement unions of the '40s and their grassroots struggles for racial justice, to the development of “working class New York’s” professionalized unions to find the meaning for today’s labor struggles.

Readings:

• Reds at the Blackboard by Clarence Taylor, pp 1–8, 237-271

• City Unions: Managing Discontent by Mark Maier, pp 57–76

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About

NYC DSA Citywide Night School aims to connect the history and theory of socialist struggle with the work of present day activists and organizers. It offers a rigorous but accessible curriculum for working adults to develop their political understanding and strategy.

Night School sessions are comprised of a presentation and overview of the topic at hand, followed by discussion as a group, in smaller breakout sessions, or both, to facilitate deeper conversation and understanding of the material and to bring analysis to bear on present-day realities.