ABSTRACT
Scholars concerned about the declining status of wage earners have engaged in a dialogue over the barriers to rebuilding the union movement, and the proper strategic course that organized labor should take to reverse current trends. A critical view posits that unions erred by evolving into institutions that pursue narrowly defined economic interests-specifically, better conditions and compensation for members-through the mechanism of contract negotiations, while abdicating a commitment to broader social causes or community needs (Buhle, 1999; Moody, 1988). As such, the idea of labor-community coalitions, a model reminiscent of the burst of union
organizing that took place during the Great Depression era, has emerged as a recommendation for union revitalization (e.g., Brecher & Costello, 1990; Reynolds, 2004; Sciacchitano, 1998).
