Ryan says the current alliance between students and organized labor represents the first time since the civil rights movement that the two have worked together.
Touborg says PSLM's activism reflects a national pattern.
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"Let's agree that the atmosphere on campus is not isolated," she says. "The activism reflects a concern that is not merely demonstrated by some students at Harvard College."
According to PSLM members, their actions reflect a universal fear that some Americans will be left behind in the current economic boom.
"These issues are so successful because everybody has to work," McKean says. "They're very real for people."