It’s really quite stunning to witness the complete meltdown of organized labor in the U.S. over the last couple of election cycles, and that increasing political polarization appears to be the cause of continuing hemmoraging in the AFL-CIO.

“We cannot stand idly by, tied to a past that promises only further
decline for construction workers,” said Terence M. O’Sullivan,
president of the Laborers International Union of North America, which
has 700,000 members. He indicated that his union would soon quit the
A.F.L.-C.I.O., following five other unions that have left the
federation in the past year.”

It is surprising that the collapse of the national organizing framework for organized labor hasn’t received more attention, but probably a reflection of the declining influence of organized labor in America more than simple oversight by the media.