Been thinking the same based on some stuff out there. Personally, I romanticize the potential of unionism. The day-to-day reality is far from that potential. A union’s Twitter account or compelling organizer is not the complex reality at heart of traditional union model. https://twitter.com/tamaranopper/status/1360613883514355712

Rank & file members, especially long-term members that don’t have a paid role with the union, are the best source to speak about the tremendous benefits that can come from union membership but also the real limits on the vision and practice of mainstream unionism.

Those very members struggle mightily to be heard out there. We don’t serve the cause of unionism, especially with respect to the most marginalized workers, through disingenuous takes that can erase what’s really going on.

Engage candidly with labor’s history including the staggering racism cited above. Engage with the vital benefits referenced. To realize an anti-racist, liberatory unionism we need far more candor esp. so emerging unionists have the context to navigate their way into the movement.