Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T17:02:49.576Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Unions and the Democratic First Amendment

from Part II - History, Politics, and Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2022

Angela B. Cornell
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Mark Barenberg
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
Get access

Summary

This chapter argues that a pro-democracy First Amendment should also be a pro-union First Amendment. It is an article of faith that a significant purpose of the First Amendment is to enable and improve democracy, by helping Americans access the information they need for democratic deliberation and participation. Further, a considerable body of research shows that labor unions make American democracy stronger and more representative. But despite this, the Supreme Court has treated unions’ political advocacy in cases involving union agency fees with suspicion and disdain. After describing this unfortunate situation – one that is likely to get worse under the current Supreme Court – the chapter closes on a note of optimism, looking ahead to a time when scholars and advocates can realistically begin the work of rebuilding a First Amendment that recognizes labor unions as democracy-enhancing institutions.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahlquist, John S. 2017. “Labor Unions, Political Representation, and Economic Inequality,” Annual Review of Political Science 20: 409432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Political Science Association Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy. 2004. “American Democracy in an Age of Rising Inequality,” accessed at www.apsanet.org/portals/54/Files/Task%20Force%20Reports/taskforcereport.pdfGoogle Scholar
Andrias, Kate. 2018. “Janus’s Two Faces,” Supreme Court Review: 2158.Google Scholar
Becher, Michael, and Stegmueller, Daniel. 2020. “Reducing Unequal Representation: The Impact of Labor Unions on Legislative Responsiveness in the US Congress,” Perspectives on Politics (forthcoming). https://people.duke.edu/~ds381/SB_representation_April2020_web.pdfGoogle Scholar
Branham, J. Alexander, Soroka, Stuart N., and Wlezien, Christopher. 2017. “When Do the Rich Win?,” Political Science Quarterly 132, 1: 4362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, Nicholas. 2013. White-Collar Government. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, Bob, and Foley, Michael W.. 2000. “Civil Society and Social Capital: A Primer,” in Edwards, Bob, Foley, Michael W., and Diani, Mario eds., Beyond Tocqueville: Civil Society and the Social Capital Debate in Comparative Perspective. Middlesex, MA: Tufts University Press: 114.Google Scholar
Estlund, Cynthia. 2015. “Are Unions a Constitutional Anomaly?,” Michigan Law Review 114, 2: 169234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farber, Henry S., Herbst, Daniel, Kuziemko, Ilyana, and Naidu, Suresh. 2018. “Unions and Inequality Over the Twentieth Century: New Evidence from Survey Data,” NBER, accessed at www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w24587/w24587.pdfGoogle Scholar
Feigenbaum, James, Hertel-Fernandez, Alexander, and Williamson, Vanessa. 2019. “From the Bargaining Table to the Ballot Box: Political Effects of Right to Work Laws,” NBER, accessed at www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w24259/w24259.pdfGoogle Scholar
Fick, Barbara J. 2009. “Not Just Collective Bargaining: The Role of Trade Unions in Creating and Maintaining a Democratic Society,” WorkingUSA: The Journal of Labor and Society 12: 249264.Google Scholar
Freeman, Richard B. 1980. “Unionism and the Dispersion of Wages,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 34, 1: 323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, Richard B., and Medoff, James L.. 1984. What Do Unions Do? Basic Books.Google Scholar
Garden, Charlotte. 2016. “The Deregulatory First Amendment at Work,” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 50: 323362.Google Scholar
Gilens, Martin. 2015. “Descriptive Representation, Money, and Political Inequality in the United States,” Swiss Political Science Review 21, 2: 222228.Google Scholar
Gilens, Martin, and Page, Benjamin I.. 2014. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens,” Perspectives on Politics 12, 3 (September): 564–581.Google Scholar
Greenhouse, Steven. 2020. “Unions Discussing General Strike If Trump Refuses to Accept Biden Victory,” The Guardian, accessed at www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/30/us-unions-general-strike-election-trump-biden-victoryGoogle Scholar
Horwitz, Paul. 2013. First Amendment Institutions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Huq, Aziz, and Ginsburg, Tom. 2018. “How to Lose a Constitutional Democracy,” UCLA Law Review 65 (February): 78169.Google Scholar
Jaumotte, Florence, and Buitron, Carolina Osorio. 2015. “Inequality and Labor Market Institutions,” IMF Staff Discussion Note, accessed at www.imf.org/en/Publications/Staff-Discussion-Notes/Issues/2016/12/31/Inequality-and-Labor-Market-Institutions-42987Google Scholar
Kerrissey, Jasmine, and Schofer, Evan. 2013. “Union Membership and Political Participation in the United States,” Social Forces 91, 3: 895928.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krotoszynski, Jr., and Ronald, J. 2019. The Disappearing First Amendment. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lakier, Genevieve. 2018. “Imagining an Antisubordinating First Amendment,” Columbia Law Review 118: 21172159.Google Scholar
Lamare, J. Ryan. 2010. “Union Influence on Voter Turnout: Results from Three Los Angeles County Elections,” ILR Review 63, 3 (April): 454468.Google Scholar
Klarman, Michael. 2019. “Foreword: The Degradation of American Democracy – and the Court,” Harvard Law Review 134, 1: 1264.Google Scholar
Madison, James. 1787. “The Federalist Number Ten,” accessed at https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-10-02-0178Google Scholar
Murphy, Tim. 2018. “What the Democratic Party Can Learn from Nevada Casino Workers, Cooks, and Housekeepers,” Mother Jones, accessed at www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/10/what-the-democratic-party-can-learn-from-nevada-casino-workers-cooks-and-housekeepers/Google Scholar
Post, Robert. 2011. “Participatory Democracy and Free Speech,” Virginia Law Review 97: 477489.Google Scholar
Purdy, Jedediah. 2018. “Beyond the Bosses’ Constitution: The First Amendment and Class Entrenchment,” Columbia Law Review 118: 21612186.Google Scholar
Radcliff, Benjamin. 2001. “Organized Labor and Electoral Participation in American National Elections,” Journal of Labor Research 22, 2: 405414.Google Scholar
Radcliff, Benjamin, and Davis, Patricia. 2000. “Labor Organization and Electoral Participation in Industrial Democracies,” American Journal of Political Science 44, 1 (January): 132141.Google Scholar
Radcliff, Benjamin, and Saiz, Martin. 1998. “Labor Organization and Public Policy in the American States,” The Journal of Politics 60, 1 (February): 113125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slater, Joseph. 2004. Public Workers: Government Employee Unions, the Law, and the State, 1900–1962. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Peggie R. 2008. “The Publicization of Home-Based Care Work in State Labor Law,” Minnesota Law Review 92 (May): 13901423.Google Scholar
Sojourner, Aaron J. 2013. “Do Unions Promote Members’ Electoral Office Holding? Evidence from Correlates of State Legislatures’ Occupational Shares,” ILR Review 66, 2: 467486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schauer, Frederick. 1998. “Principles, Institutions, and the First Amendment,” Harvard Law Review 112: 84120.Google Scholar
Sunstein, Cass R. 1993. Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
Terriquez, Veronica. 2011. “Schools for Democracy: Labor Union Participation and Latino Immigrant Parents’ School-Based Civic Engagement,” American Sociological Review 74, 4: 581601.Google Scholar
Trumka, Richard. 2020. “Trumka: Joe Biden’s Firewall Was Union Made,” accessed at https://aflcio.org/speeches/trumka-joe-bidens-firewall-was-union-madeGoogle Scholar
Tilly, Charles. 2007. Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Western, Bruce, and Rosenfeld, Jake. 2011. “Unions, Norms, and the Rise in US Wage Inequality,” American Sociological Review 76, 4 (August): 513537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zullo, Roland. 2004. ”Labor Council Outreach and Union Member Voter Turnout: A Micro-Analysis from the 2000 Election.” Industrial Relations 43, 2 (April): 324338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zullo, Roland. 2006. “Union Cities and Voter Turnout,” in Proceedings of the Annual Meeting – Industrial Relations Research Association. Labor and Employment Relations Association: 193205.Google Scholar
Zullo, Roland. 2008. “Union Membership and Political Inclusion.Industrial and Labor Relations Review 62, 1: 2238.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×