White Nationalism, the Working Class, and Organized Labor

I have the lead article in the new issue of New Labor Forum, with the title I used for this post. It is now online and at least for the moment seems to be available freely, though it’s possible you may need a library subscription. In it, I explore the dubious media-driven proposition that Trumpism is a specifically working class phenomena instead of a white issue that crosses classes. I then go on to discuss the history of racism within the American labor movement and ask if there’s anything very new about Trumpism anyway. I then muse a bit on how the contemporary reinforces white male domination through things such as the hyper-masculine and extremely white cultural references that dominate much union-branded clothing (More angry eagles! More flags! More language and symbols that would look fine at a Trump rally!). Finally, I urge all readers to completely reject the idea that we have to appeal to some mythical white working class to build for the future, both in terms of electoral politics and in terms of the politics that actually makes more long-term change, such as movement-building, since the actual working class is by far the most diverse part of the nation and is growing more so every day. Anyway, check it out.