Summary
Working people build democracy by organizing to exercise power. In Episode 10 of Liberty and Justice For All, former UE General President Carl Rosen explains how member-led unions can challenge corporate domination, improve workers’ lives, and cultivate an independent working-class political movement. The conversation connects workplace organizing with the larger struggle against billionaire influence, predatory finance, and an economy that rewards ownership while devaluing labor.
Union democracy puts workers in charge. Rosen describes UE’s workplace-centered structure, where local officers generally work alongside the people they represent and live under the contracts they negotiate.
Organizing turns frustration into collective power. He explains how UE and the Democratic Socialists of America developed the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee to help workers organize from the bottom up.
Graduate workers demonstrate what solidarity can accomplish. Rosen reports that UE organized bargaining units covering more than 30,000 workers in roughly two years, then secured contracts that improved their working conditions.
Technology should improve lives and serve the public. The discussion challenges corporate control of AI and asks who should benefit from knowledge and labor that workers and society produce.
Working people need lasting political power. The participants explore independent political organization, Medicare for All, higher wages, public investment, and democratic reforms that could confront concentrated wealth.
The episode delivers a clear message: despair serves those who already hold power. Workers who organize can win improvements today while developing the skills, confidence, and solidarity needed to reshape society.
