{"id":255,"date":"2026-08-20T21:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255"},"modified":"2026-08-20T21:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:12:17","slug":"unions-should-hop-on-the-dsa-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255","title":{"rendered":"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

The surge in the political power of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is real. That much, everyone agrees on. Reactions to this reality, though, cover the full spectrum. \u200b\u201c<\/span>About time,\u201d say veteran leftists, for whom the current moment feels like the culmination of decades of hard organizing. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Change is possible!\u201d say bright-eyed young people being rescued from disillusionment by socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s charm. \u200b\u201c<\/span>What the hell is this?\u201d say members of the Democratic establishment, caught by surprise due to their habit of never speaking to normal people, if they can help it. \u200b\u201c<\/span>The communist threat is back,\u201d say\u00a0Republicans.<\/p>\n

Read more Bea Lumpkin and How an Antifascist Rests in Power<\/a><\/p>\n

And unions? Well. Unions are interesting. With a\u00a0handful of notable exceptions, it\u2019s fair to say that unions in the United States haven\u2019t decided what to think yet about the recent rise of DSA and their aligned candidates. This points to one of organized labor\u2019s sticky flaws\u2009\u2014\u2009but more importantly, it points to an enormous opportunity that smart unions should be salivating\u00a0over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

New York, where Mamdani\u2019s victory in the mayor\u2019s race last year kicked off DSA\u2019s ballooning national profile in earnest, is a\u00a0useful preview of where this is all going. When Mamdani first entered the Democratic primary, he was considered a\u00a0fringe candidate. Scandal-ridden former governor Andrew Cuomo was considered the safe, establishment choice. Even as Mamdani rose in the polls in the months leading up to Election Day, he only attracted endorsements from a\u00a0small number of local unions, like UAW Region 9<\/span>A, whose leaders had preexisting ties with the Left. The city\u2019s biggest and most powerful unions almost all either endorsed Cuomo (1199<\/span> SEIU, 32<\/span>BJ SEIU, the Hotel Workers and more) or, like the United Federation of Teachers, endorsed no one at all in the primary, unable to bring themselves to go on record for a\u00a0self-declared socialist even as his chances began to look more\u00a0plausible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Mamdani won the primary and established himself as the new king of New York City\u2019s Democratic Party, all of those big unions proceeded to endorse him. A\u00a0similar process played out this year with the DSA (and Zohran)-backed congressional candidates running in the city\u2019s primaries. Even Claire Valdez, a\u00a0former UAW organizer, drew endorsements only from a\u00a0minority of left-leaning unions, while her opponent, Antonio Reynoso, garnered the endorsements of the who\u2019s who of major New York unions. Sure, Reynoso is a\u00a0strong progressive himself, and would have likely been as pro-labor as anyone in Congress. But Valdez, and seven other DSA candidates in the city, won. Without the formal backing of the bulk of organized\u00a0labor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The dynamic was clear. As in most places, New York City\u2019s biggest unions are not really \u200b\u201c<\/span>progressive\u201d as much as they are full members of the Democratic Party power structure. This is not inherently bad\u2009\u2014\u2009that\u2019s where the power tends to be, and a\u00a0party where unions are an influential cornerstone is somewhat less susceptible to the lures of high-finance lobbying. Still, being members of the establishment means an aversion to valuing ideology over membership in the club. Despite the fact that DSA candidates are extremely pro-union\u2009\u2014\u2009you could hardly visit a\u00a0picket line in the city over the past year without tripping over Mamdani or his allies\u2009\u2014\u2009the actual unions could not bring themselves to endorse any of them until they proved the hard way that they can defeat their more centrist opponents at the ballot box. You could call this political common sense by the unions. You could also call it conservatism. You could also call it a\u00a0missed opportunity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Because, although there have been no indications so far that DSA candidates are the vindictive type, it is a\u00a0bit dispiriting that unions lacked the foresight and courage to get behind the most labor-movement-friendly candidates in these races until they were more or less forced to do so by process of elimination. There are two reasons to be disappointed by this. One, of course, is ideological: it would be nice if America\u2019s unions were able to make a\u00a0principled decision to back the candidates who most accurately understand the reality of where the battle between labor and capital stands. (Maybe one day!) The other reason is less utopian: DSA\u2019s rising power is not going to stop any time soon, and the unions brave enough to get on board now will have a\u00a0first-mover political advantage that will be lost to their more reluctant\u00a0brethren.<\/p>\n

Read more It\u2019s Time to Topple the AI Oligarchy<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not talking about any dreamy anticapitalist pipe dream here. I\u2019m talking about tangible power politics. The good news is that the window of opportunity for unions has not closed. DSA candidates, who understand that a\u00a0revived labor movement is necessary to achieve the Left\u2019s goals, are all newly elected. They are in desperate need of strong working relationships with the unions that have, until now, aligned themselves with the mainstream Democrats the DSA people just defeated. And the unions, whose decades-long institutional entrenchment with the Democratic Party has not produced any tangible revival for labor, are in desperate need of fresh, new energy and ideas. Many union members are tired of the Democratic establishment. Understandably. The solution for union leaders is not to start playing footsie with fascists. It is, instead, to look to the rising power of the Left and recognize the fact that they can help change the Democratic Party for the\u00a0better.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This, by the way, is the very same dynamic that was present when Bernie Sanders\u2019 presidential run in 2016<\/span> shocked many D.C. creatures with its popularity. Forward-thinking unions then had an opportunity to get on board with Bernie, who was the truest believer in the labor movement. But unions could not see past the perceived safety of the establishment choice, chose to overwhelmingly back Hillary Clinton, and ended up with\u00a0nothing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In 2026<\/span>, Bernie\u2019s movement has had a\u00a0decade to organize and flourish. We are seeing the same choice again, writ large. Organized labor\u2019s timidity, its unwillingness to jump in with both feet and try to push the Left\u2019s momentum forward, is not only a\u00a0backward ideological choice\u2009\u2014\u2009it is a\u00a0failure to grasp which way the wind is blowing. The backlash to the American age of oligarchy is growing, whether unions position themselves well or\u00a0not.<\/p>\n

Let me give you one concrete policy example. Most Democrats of all stripes support basic union priorities like the PRO Act. But Claire Valdez, the New York DSA candidate soon headed to Congress, has in her platform a\u00a0plan for the federal government to fund union organizing. That is a\u00a0policy that would address the biggest obstacle to mass organizing today\u2009\u2014\u2009a lack of resources\u2009\u2014\u2009without needing to wait around forever for a\u00a0big labor-law reform bill that never seems to pass. It is also a\u00a0policy that has little real momentum in the Democratic Party. But it could, if unions chose to throw their weight behind it and support the members of Congress most likely to back\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

At both the citywide and national levels, major unions are like enormous cargo ships: made up of a\u00a0lot of different stuff, capable of great force, but very, very slow to turn. They benefit from having visionary leaders who can see past the horizon of today\u2019s polls and into the future of what is possible. America\u2019s crisis of inequality, the wealth of its billionaire class and the collapse of union density have all grown so critical that drastic charge\u2009\u2014\u2009for better or worse\u2009\u2014\u2009is inevitable. DSA\u2019s spread inside the Democratic Party is still at its early stages. Unions can help be part of the solution to the party\u2019s reform, or they can get left behind in favor of more savvy progressive interest groups. Make the right\u00a0choice.<\/p>\n

Read more Older Adults Are Fighting for Housing Justice\u2014and They Refuse to Be Pushed Aside<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s high time for the labor movement to join forces with the democratic socialists winning elections by putting workers over capital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-labor","category-viewpoint"],"yoast_head":"\nUnions Should Hop on the DSA Train - Summit Relocation Timess<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train - Summit Relocation Timess\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s high time for the labor movement to join forces with the democratic socialists winning elections by putting workers over capital.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Summit Relocation Timess\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T21:12:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78261b7043eb436872da19e7c8eda597\"},\"headline\":\"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T21:12:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255\"},\"wordCount\":1356,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Labor\",\"Viewpoint\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255\",\"name\":\"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train - Summit Relocation Timess\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T21:12:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78261b7043eb436872da19e7c8eda597\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?p=255#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Summit Relocation Timess\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78261b7043eb436872da19e7c8eda597\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/summitrelocationtimess.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train - Summit Relocation Timess","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train - Summit Relocation Timess","og_description":"It\u2019s high time for the labor movement to join forces with the democratic socialists winning elections by putting workers over capital.","og_url":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255","og_site_name":"Summit Relocation Timess","article_published_time":"2026-08-20T21:12:17+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78261b7043eb436872da19e7c8eda597"},"headline":"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train","datePublished":"2026-08-20T21:12:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255"},"wordCount":1356,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg","articleSection":["Labor","Viewpoint"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255","url":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255","name":"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train - Summit Relocation Timess","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-20T21:12:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78261b7043eb436872da19e7c8eda597"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8f77a6cd858ae2af570cb65829036eb7.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?p=255#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Unions Should Hop on the DSA Train"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/","name":"Summit Relocation Timess","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/#\/schema\/person\/78261b7043eb436872da19e7c8eda597","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com"],"url":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/summitrelocationtimess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}