Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
2014
Abstract
This article explores the potential for a research agenda that includes scholarship on working class issues and organized labor. Such an agenda is consistent with the official mission of American Psychological Association—to advance knowledge that benefits society and improves people's lives. I focus on our paucity of interest in the institution that gives the American working class a voice—the labor union. We know that work is one of the central focuses in the lives of most people and that the work experience is deeply implicated in satisfaction with life. The efforts of organized labor to achieve economic fairness and justice, and a healthy workplace environment, are intertwined with multiple corollary consequences that constitute a wide and complex spectrum—from physical job safety and economic security on one end, to the psychological benefits of heightened self-esteem, respect, dignity, empowerment, and affiliation on the other—all related to satisfaction with life. In addition, by advancing and protecting the rights of workers, unions are part of the larger movement for civil rights.
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Lott, B. (2014). Social Class of Myopia: The Case of Psychology and Labor Unions. Analysis of Social Issues and Public Issues, 14(1), 261-280. doi: 10.1111/asap.12029
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12029
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