America's Work Force Union Podcast

NC State Labor Historian shared his thoughts on labor’s future

Written by awfblog | November 13, 2024

Dr. David Zonderman, Professor of History at North Carolina State University (NC State), joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the path forward for the labor movement after many working people felt the political parties were not listening to their concerns.

Zonderman spoke about the potential future of the labor movement under a Trump administration. Among the concerns mentioned by Zonderman is the future of the National Labor Relations Board. Based on past actions, he said the likely first steps under President Trump will be firing the current board members and installing new members. Zonderman said the current pro-labor NLRB would likely become a thing of the past.

While the Democratic Party has been sympathetic to unions under the Biden Administration, this did not mean the working class felt supported. Zonderman discussed why the working class, which he pointed out is made up of a majority of non-union workers, did not vote for Democrat candidates.

Finally, Zonderman discussed ways the labor movement can build and grow despite any policy changes coming from Washington, D.C. He said the best way forward was to put money behind organizing drives and spread the facts about organized labor and the benefits unions can provide. Zonderman noted that the pool of potential union members is massive, and their economic situation will only improve once unions lead that change.

For more from Dr. Zonderman, listen to the show above.