old roots, new branches: jewish spiritual communities and the rise of alt-labor

http://www.nationofchange.org/old-roots-new-branches-jewish-spiritual-communities-and-rise-alt-labor-1378131678

Even as many lament the withering of three movements in the United States—Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, and the labor movement—something is happening in proximity to them that just might give them new life.

Similarly, traditional labor unions have been hemorrhaging members since the 1960s. A host of factors has hastened this process, including an aging workforce, loopholes in labor law that prevent the formation of unions in certain industries, the offshoring of jobs via globalized trade, and decades of state-level assaults on workers’ rights to collectively bargain. Yet, as formalized unions wane, new independent labor organizations are emerging to champion the rights of low-wage workers in the health care, food service, food production, and retail industries, among others.

A growing number of independent, unaffiliated Jewish spiritual communities are sprouting against a backdrop of declining membership in the Conservative and Reform Jewish movements. Just as the Reform, Conservative, and Renewal movements each placed themselves somewhat in contrast to older traditions so as to attract young adults back into Jewish life, the new unaffiliated outlets for the expression of Jewish faith draw nourishment from traditional values and rituals while eschewing old norms and taboos that seem less relevant for today’s realities.

How—and to what degree—are these two parallel uprisings achieving prosperity outside of the constraints of tradition, and what does their growth portend for the continued existence of the old institutions?