Is Organized Labor’s Support for Occupy Wall Street Surprising?

Mike Elk

Editor’s note: Mike Elk appeared on RTAmerica to discuss what the support of organized labor will mean for Occupy Wall Street, and what Occupy Wall Street means in turn to organized labor.

Elk says he was surprised by the endorsements from AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and AFSCME head Gerry McEntee, since Typically labor leaders don’t do what they can’t control.” Watch the video for more:

For a limited time:

Donate $20 or more to In These Times and we'll send you a copy of Let This Radicalize You.

In this new book, longtime organizers and movement educators Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes examine the political lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, including the convergence of mass protest and mass formations of mutual aid. Let This Radicalize You answers the urgent question: What fuels and sustains activism and organizing when it feels like our worlds are collapsing?

We've partnered with the publisher, Haymarket Books, and 100% of your donation will go towards supporting In These Times.

Mike Elk wrote for In These Times and its labor blog, Working In These Times, from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a labor reporter at Politico.
Get 10 issues for $19.95

Subscribe to the print magazine.