Labor Notes conference: A force to be reckoned with

Four thousand trade unionists gathered in Rosemont, Illinois, this past weekend. The occasion was the conference of Labor Notes, a left labor magazine and current. The purpose of this article is to explain why this conference was such an important event.

Context of the conference

While the overall state of the class struggle remains tough, a number of events helped create an upbeat context for the conference. The April victory of the Amazon Labor Union at the huge Staten Island facility was on everyone’s mind. So was the fact that more than150 Starbucks locations have now unionized.

Three trade union currents supported by Labor Notes have recently scored important victories. The Sean O’Brien/Fred Zuckerman slate won the recent Teamster elections. The opposition in the auto workers, the Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) won the referendum for the direct election of top officers and is now preparing for the UAW convention and elections. The Chicago Teachers Union may well be the most militant union in the country. Its leadership has come from the CORE (Caucus of Rank and File Educators) caucus. CORE’s candidate Stacy Davis Gates recently rebuffed both right and left challengers to become the union’s new president. The new organizing and the victories in internal union elections certainly created a mood of confidence among the conference participants.

Structure of the conference

The conference was organized into three main plenary sessions, a Saturday night banquet, and a staggering number of workshops—about 260 of them! The Friday night rally set the tone for the weekend. It featured a Starbucks organizer and a John Deere striker who supported the UAWD opposition. The keynote speakers were some of the main names in the labor movement today: Stacy Davis Gates, Sean O’Brien,and Chris Smalls, the charismatic leader of the Amazon Labor Union. The evening ended with Bernie Sanders. All the speakers gave lively agitational speeches. The audience responded with constant chanting and standing ovations.

The Saturday morning plenary was on Juneteenth and the Black struggle. The Sunday plenary was a general summing up and conclusion of the weekend.

Workshops were grouped into tracks. Tracks covered the waterfront of labor movement topics. They ranged from topics such as Bargaining and Contract Campaigns to Health and Safety to Stewards to New Organizing and Strikes.

Towards an evaluation of the conference:

1. Turnout

The first point to be made is the sheer size of the conference. There were 4,000 registrants. In fact, registration had to be capped at 4,000 to prevent the facilities from being overwhelmed. When was the last time anyone remembers a left-wing meeting that had to turn people away?

The young age of the participants should be stressed. The conference was very youthful. While no exact age census was taken, my personal impression was that about two thirds of the conference were under thirty-five. This gave a feeling of vitality and energy to the event.

2. Reasons for Success

There are probably four main reasons why the conference was so large. First, new organizing victories and the recent successes of trade union currents linked to Labor Notes created an upbeat mood. Secondly, over the past several years Labor Notes has made a successful move into the field of higher education trade unionism. Thirdly, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) had a major turnout at the conference. Finally, this was the first major left-wing or labor conference since the pandemic. Activists were keen to get out of the house and be able to be physically part of an important event and to rebuild social bonds.

3. Organizational Strength

Successfully running such a large event is no mean feat. Here an important element of Labor Notes can be observed. The organizers have built a serious and effective organizational apparatus. The weekend ran without a hitch. Sessions started on time and rooms were well set up. A competent team of staff and volunteers took care of any issues cheerfully and rapidly. Marshalls ensured the smooth functioning of a very large conference. Furthermore, a large table of Labor Notes books and merchandise seemed to be constantly busy. In politics, it’s not enough to have good ideas. One has also to be able to effectively implement them. For that one needs organization, and Labor Notes has that.

4. DSA

The imprint of the DSA was all over the conference.A numberof speakers called out the role of their local DSA chapters in supporting their strikes or organizing. In one session, a Nabisco strike leader explained why she had joined the DSA. In fact, in one of the main plenary sessions, the Saturday morning Juneteenth celebration, Victor Bouzi, from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 695 centered his remarks on why he had joined DSA and supported the Sanders campaign. Sanders himself received rapturous applause when he addressed the Friday night rally. A large number of participants wore DSA clothing or badges. The DSA was certainly the biggest force at the conference in terms of both numbers and influence.

Marxists and the conference

While very supportive of the conference, many Marxists would not have agreed with everything that was said. Sometimes the upbeatrally mood of the conference didn’t face harsh realities. For example, there was a session entitled Labor’s Upsurge: How Unions Can Make the Most of the Moment. Here, the speakers took as given that we are in the midst of an upsurge. However, this is simply not the case.

Of course, there have been the organizing victories and internal election successes that have already been discussed. But these events have to be placed in their full context. Strikes are still few and far between. The two largest ongoing strikes in this country are at CNH Industrial and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in Alabama. At CNH Industrial, 1,200 UAW members in Wisconsin and Iowa are on strike to demand wage parity with the non-union plants in the system. The union expects a long strike.The Warrior Met miners have been out for fourteen months now and there is little expectation of a victory in the near future. These strikes symbolize part of the reality of the class struggle in this country today. Simply focusing on the high-profile successes such as Starbucks doesn’t arm militants for the long haul.

The triumphant way in which Bernie Sanders was received and the influence of DSA suggests that many conference participants would see electing left wing Democrats as at least part of the way forward. Many Marxists would reject this. The Democratic Party continues to be a fundamental, intrinsic component of the US ruling class. It remains the main way in which potential opposition is derailed, integrated, and absorbed in the capitalist political system. We should oppose each and every Democrat—however left-wing their rhetoric—because they remain part of a ruling-class party. For this reason, we maintain the perspective of a labor party and working-class political independence.

These points should not obscure a balanced assessment of the conference. The crucial point is that the2022 Labor Notes conference was a huge success for the left in the labor movement. It was a very welcome omen for the future.