Karen Nussbaum, the executive director of Working America (and my wonderful former employer), reflects on her
decades of organizing workers:
We often asked women whom they could turn to if they had a problem on the job. After a pause, a woman might answer, "NOW" (the National Organization for Women) or "9to5"; "I could call a government agency" or "my congressman." Some suggested calling a union. Most workers could identify an institution on their side, someone or something to back them up.
But over the decades, the answer to the question "Whom do you turn to if you have a problem on the job?" has changed. The scope has narrowed. "I might call my mother," I heard more frequently over time. Then, "I pray to God." Today, the typical working woman doesn’t even have God in her corner if she’s getting shafted at work. "I rely on myself" is the most likely answer. We went from a group for every cause and "Solidarity Forever" to "the feeble strength of one."
In a smart, thoughtful reflection of these years of often frustrating experience, Nussbaum explains how, in Working America, she's trying to create an organization that builds on the strengths, but gets past the limitations of, organizing forms such as unions, Saul Alinsky-style community organizing, mass-membership groups such as AARP, and online activism such as MoveOn (or Daily Kos).
A fair day's wage
State and local legislation