The CIO and third party politics in New York: The rise and fall of the CIO–ALP

Abstract

The Congress of Industrial Organizations’ (CIO) choice to build a labor party in New York was facilitated by an unusual institutional context that permitted unions to back a labor party while simultaneously endorsing other party's candidates. Though the CIO–ALP (American Labor Party) became a major political force in New York, CIO links to the party were ultimately severed after factions in the CIO–ALP opted to back a third party presidential candidacy. The rise and fall of the CIO–ALP highlights the need to be attentive to institutional context when explaining organized labor's “exceptional” choice to forgo building a national labor party in the United States.

Citation

Eimer, S. (2006), "The CIO and third party politics in New York: The rise and fall of the CIO–ALP", Davis, D.E. (Ed.) Political Power and Social Theory (Political Power and Social Theory, Vol. 18), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 133-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0198-8719(06)18004-7