Lesson 3: Experiences of the American Labor Movement and Global Solidarity

This session examines the history of the American labor movement and its support for pro-democracy unions abroad. Leo Casey begins by exploring the history of teachers’ unions in the United States and the reasoning behind the American Federation of Teachers’ (AFT) decision to commit itself to promoting the spread of democracy worldwide. Casey describes how the AFT and the American labor movement worked to assist and support democracy movements, particularly democratic unions, in Eastern European countries during the struggle against Communist totalitarianism. The session also explores how American unions mustered support for multiracial unions in South Africa and teachers’ unions in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and elsewhere in Latin America throughout the 1980s.