Socialism 2026

Rank-and-file movements in labor unions have shaped the terrain of labor struggle in recent years, with varying impact within union halls and on the shop floor. Some have served primarily as “reform” vehicles for a wing of the union bureaucracy, while others have anchored rank-and-file struggles on the shop floor with a reinvigorated class-struggle vision. UAW President Shawn Fain and Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, now the leading voices of the left and right labor bureaucracy, respectively, represent the culmination of two prominent union reform movements in recent years. While their initial promises of increased militancy and new organizing were refreshing, their administrations have yielded mixed results and often reinforced existing old-guard forces within the labor bureaucracy and the U.S. two-party system. At a time of all-time low unionization rates and decreased strike activity, we need to evaluate how to build rank-and-file movements capable of confronting the state and capital on key questions of our moment, from fighting ICE and imperialist wars to organizing the South. We’ll discuss and debate strategies for socialists organizing to build class-struggle unions.