ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that achievable avenues for union reinvention are available — avenues that might begin to reverse labor's fortunes in a way that meets the needs of not just waged workers but other marginalized groups in society as well. Emphasis on the need for mobilization to secure and sustain the conditions of existence for the commodity production and sale sheds light upon the contemporary union crisis. At a minimum, the success of this transaction requires the provision of uncompensated labor and the acceptance of substantial risk by union members; mobilization of support from outsiders; the acquiescence if not outright support of political leaders; and a combination of legal and extralegal strategies by the union to win corporate acquiescence. The chapter focuses on the stakeholder unionism, which is a model for union reinvention that seems best suited for the service sector.
