David S. Meyer
I'm a professor of sociology and political science at the University of California, Irvine. I've been thinking, and writing about, protest politics for almost ever. This site offers comments on contemporary events, informed (I hope) by knowing something about history and about the academic study of social movements.
Tag Archives: unions
May Day 2013
Wednesday’s May Day events remind us about how the people who participate in an event define it for their own purposes. Initially a celebration of Spring, organized around May poles (and May flies?), for more than 100 years, May 1 … Continue reading
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Tagged austerity, Greece, Haymarket, immigration, labor, Los Angeles, May Day, Occupy Wall Street, unions
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Movement overreach in Michigan
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder blamed the unions when he signed legislation designed to devastate them. He said that he had no intention of pursuing “right to work” legislation in his state, because it would be controversial and divisive. The last … Continue reading
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Tagged ALEC, Americans for Prosperity, countermovements, Indiana, Koch Brothers, labor, Michigan, Ohio, recall elections, referendum, Rick Snyder, right to work, Scott Walker, unions, Wisconsin
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Workers of the world (at least Europe) unite
For Marx and Engels, “workers of the world unite” was invective. Today it’s descriptive. Across Europe, but particularly in countries implementing harsh austerity regimes, workers are taking to the streets, sometimes landing in violent clashes with police. The global financial … Continue reading
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Tagged austerity, Europe, Frederich Engels, general strike, Greece, Italy, Karl Marx, labor, Portugal, Spain, unions
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Strikes without unions: Walmart
Workers (“associates” to their employers) have walked off the job at several Walmarts sprawled across the United States. The workers at Walmart, like most workers in retail, and most workers in the private sector, and most workers in the United … Continue reading
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Tagged Black Friday, boycott, consumers, Joe Biden, labor, Occupy, pickets, strikes, UFCW, unions, Walmart
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Global campaigns to surround parliaments
We saw the reemergence of broad and disruptive anti-austerity protests in Greece and Spain this week. Although the causes of fiscal crisis and dramatically increased borrowing costs in the two countries, the proposed remedy from Europe was the same: strict … Continue reading
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Tagged Adbusters, anti-austerity, austerity, civil servants, Euro, Greece, Halloween, Occupy, Occupy Wall Street, Spain, unions
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A day for labor
For Labor Day Weekend, here’s a reminder about the history of this commemoration in America (reposted from 2011). Successful politicians exploit, buy off, and sell out the movements that sometimes buoy their campaigns. This American story is an old one, … Continue reading
Drawing a line from ALEC to Trayvon
George Zimmerman fired the shot that killed Trayvon Martin, but ALEC wrote the Stand Your Ground law at the core of his legal defense. Taken just a slight step further, ALEC also pressed for the budget cuts that have led … Continue reading
Occupied Wall Street
Some of the demonstrators who promised to stay at the protest on Wall Street until their one demand was answered nearly two weeks ago are still there. Several dozen are camping out in Zuccotti Park, a private park nearby, and … Continue reading
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Tagged airlines, demands, democracy, labor, New York City, pilots, police, unions, Wall Street
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A day for Labor
Successful politicians exploit, buy off, and sell out the movements that sometimes buoy their campaigns. This American story is an old one, and it’s one that leaves activists disappointed, wary, and cynical, even especially about the politicians who do the … Continue reading
