If you're lucky enough to be employed today in the United States, there's about a one-in-ten chance that you're in a labor union. And even if you re part of that unionized 10 percent, chances are your union doesn't carry much economic or political clout. But this was not always the case, as historian and activist James Young shows in this vibrant story of the United Electrical Workers Union. The UE, built by hundreds of rank-and-file worker-activists in the quintessentially industrial town of Erie, Pennsylvania, was able to transform the conditions of the working class largely because it went beyond the standard call for living wages to demand quantum leaps in worker control over workplaces, community institutions, and the policies of the federal government itself. James Young's book is a richly empowering history told from below, showing that the collective efforts of the many can challenge the supremacy of the few. Erie's two UE locals confronted a daunting array of obstacles: the corporate superpower General Electric; ferocious red baiting; and later, the debilitating impact of globalization. Yet, by working through and across ethnic, gender, and racial divides, communities of people built a viable working-class base powered by real democracy. While the union's victories could not be sustained completely, the UE is still alive and fighting in Erie. This book is an exuberant and eloquent testament to this fight, and a reminder to every worker employed or unemployed; in a union or out that an injury to one is an injury to all."

During the Industrial Revolution, class was defined largely through the structuring of market relations. Integrating aspects of economic and social history as well as industrial sociology, this book examines the sources of the perception of the market on the part of both capital and labor and the elaboration of their alternative market ideologies. Of particular import is the argument that working class culture expressed a fundamental acceptance of the utility of the market, a point that is supported by a detailed analysis of the labor process, workplace bargaining and early nineteenth century trade unionism. Nonetheless, the working class's definition of "proper" market relations differed substantially from that of capitalists.

This collection of articles and cases helps readers develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that human resource and other managers need for success when working in culturally diverse environments. Three key questions are addressed:
What are the trends and current issues in global diversity that affect management and human resource management?
What are the solutions?
What is needed to implement these solutions?

Articles from a range of different cultures have been specially chosen for their readability and for their practical application. Cases at the end of each section provide real life examples of successes and problems from a variety of countries, highlighting national differences and challenging students to provide solutions to real life issues.

With a detailed introduction setting the scene for the readings and cases, "International HRM: Managing Diversity in the Workplace" is ideal for students on MBA and executive courses in international human resource management and cultural diversity.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Japan embarked on a mission to modernize its society and industry. For the first time, young Japanese women were persuaded to leave their families and enter the factory. "Managing Women" focuses on Japan's interwar textile industry, examining how factory managers, social reformers, and the state created visions of a specifically Japanese femininity. Faison finds that female factory workers were constructed as "women" rather than as "workers" and that this womanly ideal was used to develop labor-management practices, inculcate moral and civic values, and develop a strategy for containing union activities and strikes. In an integrated analysis of gender ideology and ideologies of nationalism and ethnicity, Faison shows how this discourse on women's wage work both produced and reflected anxieties about women's social roles in modern Japan.

In this new edition of Why Unions Matter, Michael D. Yates shows why unions still matter. Unions mean better pay, benefits, and working conditions for their members; they force employers to treat employees with dignity and respect; and at their best, they provide a way for workers to make society both more democratic and egalitarian. Yates uses simple language, clear data, and engaging examples to show why workers need unions, how unions are formed, how they operate, how collective bargaining works, the role of unions in politics, and what unions have done to bring workers together across the divides of race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation. The new edition not onlyupdates the first, but also examines the record of the New Voice slate that took control of the AFL-CIO in 1995, the continuing decline in union membership and density, the Change to Win split in 2005, the growing importance of immigrant workers, the rise of worker centers, the impacts of and labor responses to globalization, and the need for labor to have an independent political voice. This is simply the best introduction to unions on the market.

Recasting labor studies in a long-term and global framework, the book draws on a major new database on world labor unrest to show how local labor movements have been related to world-scale political, economic, and social processes since the late nineteenth century. Through an in-depth empirical analysis of select global industries, the book demonstrates how the main locations of labor unrest have shifted from country to country together with shifts in the geographical location of production. It shows how the main sites of labor unrest have shifted over time together with the rise or decline of new leading sectors of capitalist development and demonstrates that labor movements have been deeply embedded (as both cause and effect) in world political dynamics. Over the history of the modern labor movement, the book isolates what is truly novel about the contemporary global crisis of labor movements. Arguing against the view that this is a terminal crisis, the book concludes by exploring the likely forms that emergent labor movements will take in the twenty-first century.

The authoritative source of precise and easy to understand definitions of words, terms, and phrases that are used in the fields of Human Resource Management, Personnel, and Industrial Relations, this new edition of the Dictionary of Human Resource Management has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect changes in vocabulary and usage.
All the previous editions' entries have been reviewed, around 300 new entries have been added, and the existing entries thoroughly edited to reflect changes in the usage of terms, changes in institutions and official bodies, and keeps pace with the evolving HRM vocabulary. With over 1,400 entries, this new edition of the Dictionary features:
* The latest terms and management buzzwords
* Key theoretical terms and concepts from academics and consultants
* Technical terms used by practising personnel/HR managers and trade unionists
* Major policies, practices, and institutions
* Jargon from the present and the past
* Legal terms
* Thematic categorization of the main concepts
* Cross-referencing of entries
The second edition of the Dictionary of Human Resource Management is a vital companion for students and practitioners in HRM, Personnel, and Industrial Relations.

Neither an autobiography nor a scholarly analysis, Labor's Struggles, 1945-1950: A Participant's View is a skilful blend of both genres. Informative and original in its insights and analyses, this book provides the reader with information available from no other source. These insights must be included in any subsequent efforts to interpret this period in labour history. Richter based this account largely on his own experience as legislative representative for the United Auto Workers - C.I.O. from 1943 to 1947, as well as on documents and conversations from that period, supplemented with historical research. This study of policy making in union headquarters and in Washington focuses on the 1945 splits within the C.I.O. as well as the sharp divisions between the 'social' C.I.O. and the 'opportunistic' A.F.L. In addition, it focuses on the Labour Management (Taft-Hartley) Act of 1947 which divided an already fragmented movement.

Images of striking COSATU workers, singing, marching and toyi-toying are a familiar sight for most South Africans and external observers of the country’s politics. Similarly, COSATU’s feisty general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi has become a household name, commanding respect and admiration among millions and loathing and fear among his enemies and those who are on the receiving end of his fiery political oratory.

But how much do we know about what COSATU workers think about their workplaces, their unions, politics and the economy? What influences COSATU members’ decisions to vote for a particular political party? Why has COSATU women members’ support for the ANC declined? Why do some union members think there may be good reasons to assault non-strikers and scabs during strikes? What do unionised workers think of service delivery and what role did they play in the recent spate of service delivery protests? These and many other questions are examined in this volume which is based on the fourth run of the COSATU Workers’ Survey conducted a few months before the 2009 elections.

Contrary to stereotypes reproduced in the media and other public platforms which portray trade union members as a herd led by all-powerful ‘union bosses’, COSATU’s Contested Legacy deftly presents a picture of a multifaceted organisation whose members are steeped in the traditions of internal democracy, leadership accountability and mandated decision-making. But these traditions are not static. They are fiercely contested among different groups and categories of union members – women and men; migrant and urban workers; skilled and unskilled workers; blue collar and white collar and professional workers; permanent and part-time and casual workers.

In reviewing major issues concerning the history of British trade unions in the last two-thirds of the twentieth century, this book discusses many controversial aspects of trade unions. It includes their economic impact (a cause of higher unemployment and lower productivity?) and their influence on government (unelected partners?). The book provides students with an accessible introduction to the recent history of British trade unionism.

"The Political Spirituality of Cesar Chavez: Crossing Religious Borders" maps and challenges many of the mythologies that surround the late iconic labor leader. Focusing on Chavez' own writings, Leon argues that" La Causa" can be fruitfully understood as a quasi-religious movement, based on Chavez's charismatic leadership, which he modeled after Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi. Chavez recognized that spiritual prophecy, or political spirituality, was the key to disrupting centuries old dehumanizing narratives that conflated religion with race. Chavez's body became emblematic for Chicano identity, and enfleshed a living revolution. While there is much debate and truth-seeking around how he is remembered, through investigating the leader's construction of his own public memory, the author probes the meaning of the discrepancies. By refocusing Chavez's life and beliefs into three broad movements--mythology, prophecy, and religion--Leon brings us a moral and spiritual agent to match the political leader.

This book explores the process of popular mobilization in contemporary Mexico through the experience of the country's most important organization--the teachers' movement. It creates a distinctive perspective on Mexican politics and makes an original contribution to the study of popular, or "social" movements, providing a richly detailed account of its organization, leadership, strategic choices, and factional divisions. But it also links the trajectory of the movement to the shifting legal and institutional terrain that composes its political environment, so revealing how it is shaped by, and how it shapes the political system. Through its innovative methods, which produce an unusual and compelling blend of fact and theory, the book uncovers the motivations and mechanisms of popular mobilization, as well as explaining its interactions with national politics in Mexico and beyond.

This is the first comprehensive study of the position of Soviet industrial workers during the Khrushchev period. Donald Filtzer examines the main features of Khrushchev's labor policy within the overall context of "de-Stalinization" and provides a detailed analysis of shop floor relations between workers and managers, the position of women workers and their specific role in the Soviet economy. In his conclusions, the author relates the labor problems of the Khrushchev years to those faced by Mikhail Gorbachev and perestroika, thus helping to explain the failure of Gorbachev's policies.

In this definitive guide, Forrest Mosten--an internationally recognized mediation expert--helps would-be mediators answer the critical question "Do I have the values, skills, personality, and commitment necessary to mediate?"
A comprehensive resource, the book also explores a wealth of timely topics including the need to establish standards of the profession, how to maintain confidentiality, the pros and cons of co-mediation, and the place of mediation in the process of court and law reform. Straightforward and reader-friendly, the Mediation Career Guide is filled with practice tips, self-surveys, diagrams, reading resources, a list of training programs and volunteer opportunities, budget forms, and model standards of conduct. This hands-on resource is designed to make the challenging journey of becoming a peacemaker a one-step-at-a-time manageable process.

In this book, leading international relations experts and practitioners examine through theory and case study the prospect for successful multilateral management of the global economy and international security. In the theory section contributors tackle the big questions: Why is there an apparent rising tide of calls for reform of current multilateral organizations and institutions? Why are there growing questions over the effectiveness of global governance? Is the reform of current organizations and institutions likely or possible? Case studies include the examination of difficulties facing global development, the challenges facing the IMF and the governance of global finance, the problems of the UN 2005 World Summit and its failed reform, and the WTO and the questions raised by the prolonged Doha Development Round.

Co-published with the Centre for International Governance Innovation

A Warner Business Book™

Also Available as an eBook

IT'S ABOUT FULFILLMENT.

A revolution is sweeping America. On its front lines are people fed up with unfulfilling jobs, dysfunctional workplaces, and dead-end careers-men and women who are working for themselves. Meet today's new economic icon—the free agent. And meet your future.

IT'S ABOUT FREEDOM.

Free agents are the marketing consultant down the street, the home-based "mompreneur," the footloose technology contractor. Already 30 million strong, these 21st-century pioneers are creating lives with more meaning—and often more money. FREE AGENT NATION is your ticket to this exhilarating new world.

IT'S ABOUT TIME.

Discover:

· The kind of free agent you can be—"soloist," "temp," or "microbusiness"—and how to launch your new career

· How to get the perks you once received from your boss: health insurance, office space, training, workplace togetherness, even water cooler gossip

· Why the free agent economy is increasingly a woman's world—and how women are flourishing in it

· The transformation of retirement—how older workers are creating successful new businesses (and whole new lives) through the Internet.

ALSO AVAILABLE FROM WARNER BOOKS

DIGITAL ABORIGINAL
The Direction of Business Now:
Instinctive, Nomadic, and Ever-Changing
by Mikela Tarlow with Philip Tarlow
Once people moved freely in a world strung together not by roads or wires but by impressions and stories. Here two noted authors show how today's technology-driven information blurs old borderlines and that in many ways we live in an era very much like that of our aboriginal ancestors. In this brilliant, forward-thinking book, they urge business managers to re-imagine strategies and customers and help managers and entrepreneurs enter this modern age with a clearer vision of new markets, new products, and new rewards on the digital frontier.

"A road map to the treasures of our primal past, which are now signposts of our future. We serve ourselves well by heeding [the Tarlows]."
-Isisara Bey, vice president, Corporate Affairs, Sony Music

BLUR
The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy
by Stan Davis and Christopher Meyer
Customized products, interactive buyers and sellers, 24-hour-a-day customer service, Web sites, e-mail, beepers, cell phones, overnight delivery. Today real-time responsiveness is standard, distance has disappeared, and change happens so fast it's only a blur. A company can either profit in this new economic world or be destroyed by it. This dynamic, groundbreaking guide reveals who the hottest innovators are today, shows you what tomorrow's winners will need, and gives you fifty ways to blur your business right now.

"Fast, smart, and useful-a decoder ring that any business person can use to make sense of the world of work today."
-Alan Webber, founding editor, Fast Company

BUSINESS @ THE SPEED OF THOUGHT
Succeeding in the Digital Economy
by Bill Gates
The New York Times Bestseller
Bill Gates's vision changed our world. In this monumental book, Gates argues that the capabilities of computer networks are only beginning to be harnessed-and that your company must start building a modern, digital nervous system now in order to compete quickly and intuitively in the new millennium. Looking at the digital systems in place at Microsoft and other leading corporations, Gates explains how to turn your hardware and software into a powerful, evolving network of information.

"Clear, richly detailed...a smart investment."
-Business Week

In Art Work, Katja Praznik counters the Western understanding of art - as a passion for self-expression and an activity done out of love, without any concern for its financial aspects - and instead builds a case for understanding art as a form of invisible labour. Focusing on the experiences of art workers and the history of labour regulation in the arts in socialist Yugoslavia, Praznik helps elucidate the contradiction at the heart of artistic production and the origins of the mystification of art as labour. This profoundly interdisciplinary book highlights the Yugoslav socialist model of culture as the blueprint for uncovering the interconnected aesthetic and economic mechanisms at work in the exploitation of artistic labour. It also shows the historical trajectory of how policies toward art and artistic labour changed by the end of the 1980s. Calling for a fundamental rethinking of the assumptions behind Western art and exploitative labour practices across the world, Art Work will be of interest to scholars in East European studies, art theory, and cultural policy, as well as to practicing artists.

When the Clyde Ran Red paints a vivid picture of the heady days when revolution was in the air on Clydeside. Through the bitter strike at the huge Singer Sewing machine plant in Clydebank in 1911, Bloody Friday in Glasgow's George Square in 1919, the General Strike of 1926 and on through the Spanish Civil War to the Clydebank Blitz of 1941, the people fought for the right to work, the dignity of labour and a fairer society for everyone. They did so in a Glasgow where overcrowded tenements stood no distance from elegant tea rooms, art galleries, glittering picture palaces and dance halls. Red Clydeside was also home to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Glasgow Style and magnificent exhibitions showcasing the wonders of the age. Political idealism and artistic creativity were matched by industrial endeavor: the Clyde built many of the greatest ships that ever sailed, and Glasgow locomotives pulled trains on every continent on earth. In this book Maggie Craig puts the politics into the social context of the times and tells the story with verve, warmth and humour.

Due to economic crises, labor parties followed economic policies that hurt labor unions during the 1990s, such as trade liberalization and privatization. This book explains why labor unions resisted on some occasions and submitted on others and what the consequences of their actions were by studying three countries: Argentina, Mexico, and Venezuela. The comparison between the experiences of the three countries and five different sectors in each country shows the importance of politics in explaining labor reactions and their effects on economic policies.

From assembly line to call centre, this volume charts the immense transformation of work and pay across the 20th century and provides the first labor-focused history of Britain. Written by leading British historians and economists, each chapter stands as a self-contained reading for those who need an overview of the topic, as well as an introduction to and analysis of the controversies among scholars for readers entering or refreshing deeper study.
The 20th century was a period of unrivalled change in the British labor market. Technology, social movements, and political action all contributed to an increased standard of living, while also revolutionizing what workers do and how they do it. Covering a range of topics from lifetime work patterns and education to unemployment and the welfare state, this book provides a practical introduction to the evolution of work and pay in 20th century Britain.

From assembly line to call centre, this volume charts the immense transformation of work and pay across the 20th century and provides the first labour focused history of Britain. Written by leading British historians and economists, each chapter stands as a self-contained reading for those who need an overview of the topic, as well as an introduction to and analysis of the controversies among scholars for readers entering or refreshing deeper study.
The 20th century was a period of unrivalled change in the British labour market. Technology, social movements, and political action all contributed to an increased standard of living, while also revolutionizing what workers do and how they do it. Covering a range of topics from lifetime work patterns and education to unemployment and the welfare state, this book provides a practical introduction to the evolution of work and pay in 20th century Britain.

This work offers a detailed history of American actors' attempts to unionize in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Actors' unions of this period faced a staggering amount of struggles, including a heavy industry reliance on the blacklist, severe media attacks on individual actors, and the frequent formation of illegitimate company unions. This work focuses specifically on the two main unions of the time, the White Rats Actors' Union of America and the Actors' Equity Association. The author chronicles the formation of the unions along with their achievements in the following decades and outlines the roles of union leaders Harry Mountford and Francis Wilson.

In Managing Competitive Crisis Martyn Wright examines how competitive crisis affected the management of work relations in Britain between 1979 and 1991. Based on longitudinal research and interviews with fifty major companies and employers associations, Managing Competitive Crisis is a unique book of topical interest for students of organizational behavior, human resource management and industrial relations and for those seeking to understand the future direction of European political economy.