Labor Must Scale Up Through Momentum-Based Organizing to Survive
Source: Chris Brooks. "Learning From the UAW’s National Organizing Push." February 16, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
Labor unions are dying because they organize too slowly and on too small a scale. The UAW's recent strike showed that when workers get excited about unions, they'll organize themselves if given the chance. Instead of the old slow method of building support worker by worker, unions should use 'movement moment' strategies that spread quickly and let workers lead their own campaigns.
Conclusion
The labor movement must adopt mass-scale organizing strategies that combine momentum-based and worker-to-worker approaches to survive and build power in the private sector
Premises
- Union density in the private sector is in terminal decline, threatening labor's survival
- The UAW's 2023 strike created a rare 'movement moment' where thousands of workers began self-organizing without staff support
- Traditional structure-based organizing is too slow and staff-intensive to capitalize on mass organizing opportunities
- The UAW's higher education model demonstrates that worker-to-worker organizing can achieve massive scale with 92% average victory margins across 30,000+ workers
- Momentum-based organizing can work in hostile terrain, as shown by the historic Volkswagen victory - the first UAW win at a foreign-owned Southern auto plant
- Strategic fluency - choosing the right organizing model for specific conditions - is more important than loyalty to one method
Assumptions
- Movement moments are rare and must be seized quickly when they occur
- Workers will self-organize when inspired by successful collective action
- Mass organizing is more like a social movement than traditional union building
- The current organizing infrastructure is inadequate for the scale of worker interest
- Success in favorable terrain (higher ed) can inform strategy in hostile terrain (Southern auto plants)