American labor's contemporary political activities—lobbying, organizing election workers, raising political funds, and attempts to persuade members to vote for favored candidates—have not since the 1960s proved effective in influencing public policy in ways that labor favors. As a consequence, in the 1980s organized labor has turned to deliberate efforts to control the selection of the Democratic party's nominee for president. Whether the result will be a Democratic-Labor party contending for electoral and legislative victories or a politically weakened labor movement that is simply another minority lobby cannot now be predicted with assurance.
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References
1.
Norman Blume , “The Impact of a Local Union on Its Membership in a Local Election,”Western Political Quarterly, pp. 398-409 (Mar. 1970).
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2. Arthur C. Wolfe, “Trends in Labor Union Voting Behavior,”Industrial Relations (Oct. 1969); Robert Axelrod, “Where the Votes Come From,”American Political Science Review (Mar. 1972 and June 1974).
