
The Power of Unions: Rise, Fall, Return?
From Sustainability Matters by De Gruyter Brill
February 11, 2026 · 1h 12m · Season 13 · Episode 13
About this episode
This episode explores the dynamics of unions, their historical context, and insights from a major New York transit union's experience.
On this episode of Sustainability Matters, we ask: why do unions rise, why do they fall, and what does it take for them to rise again? How do leadership, strategy, and internal democracy shape their trajectory? And what can the turbulent history of a major New York transit union teach us about the labour movement today? All this and more with Dr. Marc Kagan, author of Take Back the Power: The Fall and Rise and Fall of NYC’s Transport Workers Union Local 100, 1975–2009, which is Volume 7 in th...
People in this episode
Host: De Gruyter Brill
Guest: Dr. Marc Kagan
Topics covered
- unions
- labour movement
- leadership
- strategy
- internal democracy
- history
Keywords
- unions
- labour movement
- leadership
- strategy
- internal democracy
- New York transit union
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Sustainability Matters, De Gruyter Brill
Books & works: Take Back the Power: The Fall and Rise and Fall of NYC’s Transport Workers Union Local 100, 1975–2009
Places: New York
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