The Union's Inspiration: Black Workers, AFSCME, and the Public Sector Upsurge of the 1960s

This grant is co-funded by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

Debates about the future of the labor movement have largely neglected to study the main pattern of union growth in the U.S.: brief upsurges when significant numbers of workers mobilize to build organizations and win collective bargaining rights. Doctoral student in political science Chas Walker will investigate the emergence of the public sector union upsurge of the 1960s with a focus on the role of Black workers and union leaders. He will analyze archival data for his study.