In this course, we will explore broad questions about how workers gain and sustain power vis-à-vis employers and political systems. The first part of the course will be devoted to the labor movement in the US, including trade unionism’s rise and decline in the 20th century, as well as other forms of workers’ activism and organizations, such as workers’ centers. Themes include radicalism and bureaucratization; organizing among immigrant workers, women, and workers of color; strategy, tactics, and workers’ relationship to the state; prospects for organizing among nonstandard workers, such as gig workers and domestic workers; and the current reinvigoration of labor activism. Later in the semester we will explore labor movements in other countries, both in Europe and the Global South. The course will include guest speakers involved in labor organizing. Students will write a final research paper on a topic of their choosing.