Unions or Abundance? That’s a False Choice. |
Unions or Abundance? That’s a False Choice.
A new report argues that the labor movement is a key ally in the movement to build things more quickly.
This week, Ezra Klein invited on his podcast his Abundance co-author, Derek Thompson, and Marc Dunkelman, the scholar and author of Why Nothing Works?, to talk about the movement their books launched. It was good timing: The shadow primary for the 2028 Democratic nomination for president is already underway, and for some, it’s a battle between the “abundance” movement—which is often shorthand for a deregulatory, centrist agenda—and the populists.
Two early Democratic frontrunners have adopted at least some of the language of the abundance agenda: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is touting his record of cutting regulation and building quickly—his mantra is “Get Stuff Done”—and California Governor Gavin Newsom has an aggressive plan to build more housing in the state. How unions fit into that agenda has been a central question. Newsom’s housing push has stalled over some concerns from unions, while Shapiro has argued that there’s no reason unions can’t be part of an effort to speed up building.
A new report on Thursday from The Roosevelt Foundation argues that unions form a key ally in the abundance movement, and makes the case for what its authors, Columbia University labor experts Kate Andrias and Alex Hertel-Fernandez, call “democratic abundance.” Unions are important in bringing workers’ rights to the table in any discussion, they say. The report comes as the mammoth No Kings movement........