Europe could have the secret to saving America’s unions

An article on Vox about the crisis among labor unions in the U.S. and strategies like sectoral bargaining that are working for unions in Europe interviews Matthew Dimick, associate professor of law, who suggests that unions could run the unemployment insurance system using subsidies from the government. “Back before there was any unemployment insurance, unions just did it on their own as a mutual aid function,” he said. When the Depression hit and unions lacked the funds to keep paying out benefits, “State governments came to their rescue by subsidizing them. It was an easy fix to the problem of unemployment rather than enacting wholesale government insurance.”

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http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/17/15290674/union-labor-movement-europe-bargaining-fight-15-ghent