Is There a Feeling of Rightness and Dignity?

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Do you feel like you gained something from the attempt to organize you and your college? Oh my God, yes, absolutely. I'm a political scientist. I study collective action problems. And boy, did I learn a lot about how difficult collective action is in part because of the variety of ways in which power can be exercised. Some of them are not with a heavy club, but with a carrot.

We don't know about you, but we are fans of weekends. And social security. And health insurance. And the end of child labor! And all of these workplace protections exist because of the advocacy of labor unions. In this episode, American political scientist Margaret Levi shares the long history of organizing labor, and explains how unions create equality and protect worker rights. Margaret also discusses her optimism about today’s young workforce and why she believes that an equitable future requires a revival of the labor movement.