Seattle, WA – On December 7, Freedom Road Socialist Organization – Seattle hosted Joe Burn, a labor lawyer and author of Class Struggle Unionism for a discussion at the Seattle Public Library on building a fighting labor movement. Workers, unionists, and FRSO members joined in person and online to hear Burns explain why rank-and-file militancy is critical for winning real gains and challenging corporate power. The event highlighted growing interest in class-struggle politics as workers nationwide confront attacks on wages, their rights and union strength.

The conversation quickly turned to the everyday realities facing Seattle workers. People shared openly about bureaucratic roadblocks, employer intimidation, and the urgent need for democratic organizing on the shop floor.

Clio Jensen, a FRSO member, described Burns’ book as “an important read for those of us in the labor movement. It goes beyond what our existing unions can do today.”

Attendees stressed that class-struggle unionism isn’t just theoretical, it is a practical tool. With stagnant wages, rising living costs, and contract violations affecting many workplaces, reading and sharing Burns’ analysis gives rank-and-file members the knowledge and strategies they need to organize effectively. Engaging with these ideas turns frustration into collective action and strengthens worker solidarity.

Burns reminded the room that real change comes from workers themselves, not top union officials. He pointed to historic labor battles where rank-and-file action, cross-workplace solidarity, and strategic disruption won major victories. Attendees connected these lessons to their own workplaces in Seattle, where struggles over wages, staffing and contract enforcement demand proactive, coordinated action. Virgilio Goze, a USPS worker and FRSO member, highlighted the limits federal employees face: “As federal workers, it still isn’t even legal for us to strike, despite being unionized.”

The challenges faced by federal workers echo a broader national pattern. Across the country, millions of public-sector employees are barred from striking, limited in bargaining rights, or forced to navigate legal restrictions designed to weaken collective action. Seattle workers noted that these constraints don’t just affect federal workplaces; they shape the entire labor terrain of the region, where large sectors like healthcare, transportation, and logistics are tied to federal regulations or federal funding.

Participants emphasized that the repression of federal workers’ rights is a deliberate strategy by the state to contain worker militancy, making it even more important for labor organizing to spread across sectors. To many in the room, it underscored why building a fighting labor movement requires solidarity across workplaces, industries and legal categories, especially when the law itself is used as a weapon against worker action.

Throughout the event, participants emphasized that simply learning and discussing these ideas is a form of organizing. Workers shared experiences from their shop floors and discussed the need for workplace committees as well as cross-union networks. Burns warned, “Without rank-and-file organization, the union becomes a bargaining tool for management. Dan Howes, a local union member, added, “The rank and file need to be leading our unions.”

Burns concluded, “Unions today are weak because they have abandoned class-struggle politics. But if we rebuild unions around those fundamentals, we create strong, lasting unions capable of real change.” He urged workers not to wait for change to trickle down from union leadership or government policy but to take initiative in their own workplaces, educate coworkers, and build networks of solidarity across industries. Attendees agreed that the challenges Seattle workers face demand more than passive participation; they require organized resistance.

For Burns and the people in the room, the direction was unmistakable – a labor movement grounded in class struggle, led by the rank and file, and committed to confronting corporate power head on is the only way to achieve lasting change.

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