Joe Burns’ incredibly important new book seems to me much larger than the labor movement. I hope he will share with us today some insights into his view of U.S. labor history and the potential for a U.S. labor future, but also his perspective on how this impacts our society as a whole. Are we right to look to the labor movement as a possible ally in the struggle for justice and maybe even peace?

For turn of the century Progressives, Populists and good government reformers, securing the right of direct democracy was often a top goal. Individuals such as Samuel Gompers, Robert La Follette, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Jennings Bryan all advocated for direct democracy through ballot initiatives and referendums. Because of efforts by Progressives, Populists, women’s suffrage advocates, Socialists, government reform advocates and organized labor, the right to direct democracy was secured in almost all Western states.