Extraction, class, and consciousness: A case study of unionization in the Bakken oil shale region

In this interview and case study, we examine the Bakken oil shale boom's effect on union density in western North Dakota to test if high labor demands assist unions in expanding their membership and winning concessions. Using a key informant approach, we find that unions took advantage of the high demand for labor, but this growth encountered important barriers, including a lack of an activist approach, the organization of work, and a political climate in which labor's interests are perceived to oppose the demands of the environmental movement, that need to be surmounted before booming labor demands can turn into gains for labor.