Eric Blanc 
$32.75
University of California Press

Professor of labour studies at Rutgers University, Eric Blanc’s We Are the Union arrives as a timely and practical intervention when the climate for the working class in America is quite inclement. Blanc asks: How can unions in the US rebuild organising capacity and win real power in workplaces today?

At the heart of Blanc’s thesis argues for a worker-to-worker organising model in which rank-and-file workers take the lead in organising their co-workers, supported rather than led by union professionals. This approach, he contends, will build scale and deepen internal union democracy, in the US because workers shape strategy, recruit peers, and sustain campaigns from within.

In describing this model he emphasises three key features: workers have a meaningful strategic voice, organising starts before unions fully commit staff and resources, and internal training enables experienced workers to guide and support others.

Blanc provides detailed case studies drawn from recent American labour struggles, showing how grassroots energy has driven dramatic breakthroughs: the Starbucks Workers United campaign, propelled by small groups of young workers, used “worker-to-worker DNA” from the outset; filing representation petitions almost daily and achieving uncommonly high success rates in union elections.

Internal reform movements within the United Auto Workers and NewsGuild/CWA demonstrate how rank-and-file involvement can reinvigorate union strategy, inject militancy and build organising infrastructure capable of winning contracts and organising new members.

These stories aren’t just American anecdotes; they point toward principles and practices that could inspire union renewal everywhere, especially as workplaces become more fragmented, casualised and dispersed.

Blanc also underscores the role of digital tools, not as substitutes for face-to-face organising, but as essential connectors in a highly mobile and geographically distributed workforce.

While digital communication is rightly emphasised, technology cannot replace the deeper bonds formed through sustained, in-person organising work. A point worth considering for unions in Australia’s diverse workplaces.

Australia retains significantly higher union density than the US. Australian unions are largely organised on an industry or occupation basis, which supports broader coverage. In contrast, the US and Canada are dominated by enterprise-level unionism, where unions must win recognition workplace by workplace, often through formal elections. This structure makes organising slower and more resource-intensive in North America. Thankfully, the need for worker-to-worker activism that Blanc writes about is not as dire in Australia. For now, governments, workers, and reluctantly, employer groups accept professionally-organised union representation and intervention.  

We Are the Union is a rigorous, readable contribution to debates about union strategy. It moves beyond lamentations about decline to offer a practical blueprint for rebuilding power from within workplaces themselves. For Australian unionists seeking both fresh ideas and tested organising practice, Blanc’s work is a clarion call; one that insists union revitalisation happens when workers are not just represented, but empowered, leading campaigns alongside their rank-and-file peers.