This Week’s Top Hits

“I would say this is the best run of wage increases won by labor since the period right after the end of World War II,” said Art Wheaton, director of labor studies.

Professor Louis Hyman gives us a history lesson on how the American economy became dependent on the consumer, why that change has created serious environmental consequences, and whether there are alternatives to the consumer-driven economy we know today.

Boycotts can be a risky strategy for unions, said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of Labor Education Research. The tactic is hard to pull off and when they do work, boycotts run the risk of hurting the company so much they can’t function, she said.

Roughly 468,000 workers had taken part in strikes this year as of Oct. 11, compared with 126,800 over the same period last year, according to the Cornell Labor Action Tracker.

“I think this is a huge win for the UAW that they got all three contracts ratified,” said Art Wheaton, director of labor studies. “It’s lifting the boats of all or many autoworkers.”

"Starbucks has to continue to bargain but it never has to say, 'yes,'" Art Wheaton said. "The workers have 350 stores that they've unionized and exactly zero labor agreements."