The more things change, the more things stay the same: American political institutions and the power of organized labor from Roosevelt to Clinton

The American labor movement is generally considered to be much weaker than its counterparts in other advanced, industrialized countries. Many scholars argue that the limited political power of organized labor has contributed to the limited size and reach of the American welfare state. This dissertation argues that organized labor appears politically weak in the United States because it is so difficult to expand the welfare state through American political institutions. The political structure set up in the Constitution fragments the policy-making process and grants disproportionate power to rural and minority interests making it difficult to legislate comprehensive welfare state programs. Congressional procedures and norms further fragment power and have historically restricted the influence of organized labor. The dissertation explores the institutional limitations on labor's political power and the bias towards inaction and incrementalism in the American political system through legislative case studies in the areas of full employment legislation, universal health care, and labor law reform from the Roosevelt to the Clinton Administrations.; This dissertation also challenges the conventional wisdom that the American labor movement has experienced a linear decline in political influence since the 1960s. Organized labor was not as powerful in the past or as weak today as is commonly believed. Within the overall constraints of American political institutions, the labor movement has been a prominent actor in American political development. Since the 1930s, organized labor has contributed to the transformation of the party system and Congress. The potential for organized labor to exert political power has increased as a result of these political changes. Moreover, the institutional protections for minority interests that have historically obstructed labor's legislative agenda, such as the filibuster and the presidential veto, now protect organized labor as union membership density has declined and conservatives have gained power in Congress. Organized labor has managed to adapt to a changing political environment and to maintain a significant level of political influence in America's pluralist political system.