Labor Notes was launched as an attempt to help further those linkages, following the Bituminous Coal Strike of 1977–1978 and the wide-scale cross-union solidarity and energy it produced.
The hope was that these reform efforts would strengthen and consolidate the more widespread waves of union militancy found earlier in the decade.
Headlines in the first year of Labor Notes had themes like, "Teamster Steelhaulers Show Muscle in Three Week Wildcat Strike".
The AFL-CIO’s leadership changed hands and the federation began devoting more resources to organizing new members, including Latino and other immigrant workers that the labor movement had traditionally ignored.
Labor Notes participated in many of these events and supported the union members and global justice activists who formed alliances with these movements.
Every two years, Labor Notes holds a national conference that attracts over a thousand union members and leaders from across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and abroad.