"Two years since the financial crash of 2008 and nearly three years into the recession, what is perhaps most noteworthy about U.S. trade unions' response to the economic crisis is how limited and unfocused it is. To date, the main reactions of the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations and Change to Win to the crisis have been to lobby the U.S. federal government for new policies, such as those oriented to job creation; there has been little by way of member mobilization. Though this may at first seem surprising, in fact it reflects both long-term weaknesses in the labor movement and new difficulties imposed by the conjuncture. However, despite these obstacles, the U.S. labor movement has developed new and innovative strategies in recent decades, which hold out hope for a stronger reaction in months and years to come."

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