This book describes the origins and birth of Solidarity in 1980, its rebirth in 1989, and the formation of a Solidarity government. This second edition is now enlarged to include fresh documentation of the 1980 strike, a further mmoire on the experts' role 'behind the scenes', and an entirely new chapter 'From Gdansk to Government'. Taken together, the analysis and documentation provide a permanent record of Eastern Europe's first breakthrough into post-communism.

Political dissent in Poland after World War II had changed considerably by the early 1980s. In the 1950s and 1960s it was characterized by spontaneity and lack of strategy; the opposite held true in the 1980s. The people of Poland became highly politicized and openly acting dissident organizations, hostile toward the communist state, flourished. Robert Zuzowski presents a comprehensive portrait of the unique pattern of dissent, exemplified by the Workers' Defense Committee KOR, which finally triumphed in Poland. He examines the rise of the opposition in Poland, a country which has experienced more political crises than any other East European nation.

Zuzowski argues that KOR, by introducing an innovative approach to political dissent in Poland, contributed significantly to the transformation of Polish politics. The volume also explores dissent in Poland during the two decades prior to the formation of KOR. The reasons for the formation of the Workers' Defense Committee are analyzed and its activities from its inception until the summer of 1980 are chronicled. The author then examines the Committee's relations with the Roman Catholic Church and dissident organizations. Concluding chapters discuss KOR's formal dissolution and the organization's influence on Polish political culture. This volume will interest students of communism and/or sociopolitical change, as well as all those concerned with East European politics.

The current debate about industrial relations cannot be understood without a knowledge of trade-union history. Dr Pelling's book, which has for several years been a standard work on the subject, has again been revised and updated to take account of recent research and to explain the course of events up to the Thatcher years, the miner's strike and the Employment Acts. The growth of white-collar unionism and the extension of women's rights are dealt with in the concluding chapters.

This book examines the status of trade unions in contemporary China, exploring the degree to which trade unions have been reformed as China is increasingly integrated into the global economy, and discussing the key question of how autonomous China's trade unions are. Based on an extensive, grass-roots survey of local trade union chairpersons, the book reveals that although trade unions in foreign owned firms and in firms dealing with foreign firms are beginning to resemble trade unions in the West, in the majority of firms a state corporatist model of trade unions continues, with chairmen appointed by the party, with many of them occupying simultaneously party and trade union positions, and thinking it right to do so, and having power bases and networks in both the party and the trade union, with initiatives for protecting workers' interests coming from the top down, rather than the bottom up, and with collective negotiation and democratic participation in union affairs continuing to be a mere formality. The book shows how the state - wishing to maintain political stability - continues to regard itself, legitimated by the concepts of "socialism" and "proletarian dictatorship", as the sole arbiter of and protector of workers' rights, with no place for workers protecting their own interests themselves in the harsh environment of the new market economy. The book concludes, however, that because the different model of industrial relations which prevails in foreign owned firms is formally part of the government system, there is the possibility that this new more Western model will in time spread more widely.

An indispensable work for any collection on Latin America, Greenfield and Maram, both professional Latin American historians, have performed a remarkable service for scholars, journalists, students, and the interested lay public. . . . The focus of the individual chapters is on labor organizations, and the information assembled on the various unions, cooperatives, sindicatos, and mutual aid societies is invaluable. . . . The index, itself 98 pages, makes the book even more valuable for the casual or serious researcher. As a resource tool, this volume cannot be too highly recommended. "Choice"

Each chapter concentrates on the history of labor organizations of a single nation. Chapters begin with general essays that place the labor movement within the context of a country's historical and socio-political development. Entries on each of the nation's most important labor organizations follow, including discussion of origin, development, and activities. A bibliography containing suggestions for further study completes each chapter. Appendices include information on international labor organizations that have played an important role in Latin America, country-by-country time lines focusing on the development of organized labor, and a select glossary of terms and notable people.

Assesses the prospects for union reform and the future fo unions themselves in declining industries in the U.S.

This is a broad assessment of the institutional health of the 28 major national unions in the United States. The membership in the unions and the financial and political resources are examined specifically from 1979 through 1993. The focus on this era is because it contains the 1980s--a time when the unions were assailed from several positions. The fundamental idea in this work is that the resources of the union affect their capacities to undertake a variety of activities, and that the unions have a great deal of institutional strength which is likely to ensure their existence in the future.

"Fink's historical encyclopedia is original, useful, and altogether a commendable reference work." Library Journal

Cole saw the trade unions as being critical to progress, but to realise their role they needed to change and the issue of trade union structure therefore became fundamental. He considered in this volume that trade union structure was a central problem of the labour movement -- he described British trade unionism as a movement bereft of ideas and policy. He discusses the evolution in the trade unions to cover not only wages and working conditions but the organisation and control of industry.

This volume traces the attempts made after the Napoleonic Wars to link up all the numerous local and sectional Trade Societies into a single comprehensive General Trades Union' -- attempts which culminated in the short-lived Grand National Consolidated Trades Union formed under Robert Owen's influence in 1833. Based on materials not previously used by historians, this book throws new light on the development of Trade Unionism, particularly in the North of England, during these critical years.

This book shows how a Jewish lawyer utilized his philosophy of prophetic Judaism (a belief in social justice) and his training as a lawyer to become the head of a trade union that formulated policies embodying these social beliefs, bringing many benefits to its members. In 1946, Ralph Helstein was the general counsel for the United Packinghouse Workers Union (UPWA), which had become a predominantly black worker organization. At the time there was a divisive left-right split in the union. As the only individual both sides trusted, Helstein was elected president of the union, thus beginning an era of positive change for the UPWA and its workers. Beyond Helstein's efforts for the UPWA, Marching with Dr. King: Ralph Helstein and the United Packinghouse Workers of America also examines the involvement of Helstein in the civil rights movement, his personal association with Martin Luther King, Jr., and how his actions as union president championed the rights of African Americans, women, and even an immigrant group outside the United States-the sugar workers in Puerto Rico. This text presents a unique perspective on the life of a labor leader, revealing the connection between Helstein's religious and philosophical ideas with his leadership of the UPWA union. Presents information based largely upon original interviews conducted by the author, the research of historians, and original documents from the UPWA archives Provides a chronological history of the union movement through Helstein's lifetime from the 1920s to the 1980s Includes family photographs and photos of Helstein in various union activity settings such as strikes and meetings

The author analyzes the considerable legislation enacted between 1945 and 1970 and its effect on labour-management-public relations. He looks at their relevance for Britain today, and offers the most complete survey yet available of the operations of American labour as a pressure group.

This is history as it should be written: massive research and thorough documentation producing a story that tells itself. Recommended for academic history, labor, and Latin American studies collections. "Choice"

Foner's book is primarily valuable as a documentary record. It pays meticulous attention to the labour and socialist press of the time. . . . A] worthy source of information. "Latin America ConnexionS"

This noted historian writes in his fluid style about the sometimes contradictory positions taken by the labor unions and socialists in response to American intervention in Central America (long before today's Contras), from the Mexican War of 1846 to the founding of the Pan-American Federation of Labor in 1918.

Trade unions have experienced considerable global decline since the late 1970s. Although union influence remains significant in most nations, many unions have witnessed a fall in membership, on which this influence ultimately depends. Past attempts at turning the fortunes of unions around in the face of 'globalisation' and national predicaments have been the concern of union leaderships. In the case of Nigeria, such events are economic circumstances, the use of legal instrumentality such as decrees and edicts, and lack of democratic environment due to constant military intervention in Nigeria's political system.In light of the current global developments, especially in relation to density decline of trade union membership and the role trade unions are expected to play in industrial relations, The Impact of Political Action on Labour Movement Strength explores the consequences of government action and the economic and political policies on union membership and clout. This book investigates the forms of political action undertaken by trade unions and reviews the conditions under which these actions succeed or fail, whilst exploring how trade unions balance this function in relation to their main aim of collective bargaining.

While much mainstream educational research maintains that teacher unions should be outlawed or their powers greatly reduced, Bascia and her contributors, including many of the leading teacher union researchers working today, challenge this position. Instead, they recognize the important role teacher unions must play in defending public education and in minimizing the damage wrought by ill-thought-out educational policies. By avoiding idealization of these organizations and recognizing their limitations, Teacher Unions in Public Education demonstrates the necessity for union renewal for a successful education system.

The issue of trade union democracy has been the subject of considerable controversy in recent years. The government has pursued a policy designed in part to 'give unions back to their members' and the decline in the numbers of employees joining unions raises the question of whether trade unionism is losing its relevance. This book presents research papers which deal with these issues and reveals how the unions are adopting to legislative and other changes as they enter the 1990s.

In British political discourse the idea that in the 1970s trade unions 'ran the country' has become a truism, a folk mythology invoked against the twin perils of socialism and strikes. But who exactly wielded power in Britain's workplaces and on what terms? Assembling cultures takes a fine-grained look at factory activism in the motor industry between 1945 and 1982, using car manufacturing as a key case for unpicking important narratives around affluence, declinism and class. It traces the development of the militant car worker stereotype and looks at the real social relations that lay behind car manufacturing's reputation for conflict. In doing so, this book reveals a changing, complex world of social practices, cultural norms and shared values and expectations. From relatively meagre interwar trade union traditions, during the post-war period car workers developed shop-floor organisations of considerable authority, enabling some to make new demands of their working lives, but constraining others in their more radical political aims. Assembling cultures documents in detail a historic process where, from the 1950s, groups and individuals set about creating and reproducing collective power and asks what that meant for their lives. This is a story of workers and their place in the power relations of post-war Britain. This book will be invaluable to lecturers and students studying the history, sociology and politics of post-war Britain, particularly those with an interest in power, rationality, class, labour, gender and race. The detailed analysis of just how solidarity, organisation and collective action were generated will also prove useful to trade union activists. -- .

With the decline of collective regulation and the mushrooming of statutory rights in the developed world over the past half-century, individual workplace disputes are now often resolved by the civil courts, by labour courts, by administrative bodies or by arbitration. The nature and operation of these institutions, however, have been largely ignored in the employment literature and this book, by focusing on the institutional architecture itself, fills this gap.
Adjudicating Employment Rights looks at the institutions in ten countries across its chapters: seven European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain, as well as countries outside Europe, such as the USA, South Africa and New Zealand. In addition, this book compares these countries' employment adjudication regimes through descriptive comparisons, the analysis of different institutions using well-known theoretical frameworks, and the evaluation of these countries' institutions against a number of yardsticks.

There is a big hole in the history of the LGBT movement in Britain. Each step towards equality for LGBT people, every positive move in public opinion, was the result of campaigning. But while individuals and lobby groups loudly promote their role in the victories, one major player has been written out of this history: the unions. This book fills the gap. From the first strike action organised by trade union members to save the job of a victimised gay colleague in the 1970s, through the mutual solidarity of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, to the Trades Union Congress taking the initiative to save London Pride in 2012, and much more, trade unions have contributed immensely to the successes achieved, all the while protecting jobs and securing equality for thousands of LGBT working people. Peter Purton was the TUC's first LGBT officer. His book, of interest to everyone interested in equality and trade union history, reveals how LGBT trade union members organised to win recognition, then support, and how trade unions supported the struggles of LGBT communities in Britain and across the world. This is an inspiring tale, and in the dangerous world of the twenty-first century, it is a warning call to the LGBT community and those supporting it, to wake up to new threats, to remember how past victories were achieved. The labour movement has much potential as an active participant in the unfinished fight for equality, but this book shows the need for mutual engagement to make change possible.

There is perhaps no area of British life where attitudes are more strongly influenced by shared traditions and past experiences than the trade union movement; the memory of the working-class movements is a long one. It is therefore all the more important in the light of recent events to examine the origins and development of trade-union organization over the decades if we are to understand the unions of today, which have emerged as one of the most crucial and strongest elements in the economy.
This book is the product of twenty years detailed research and general reflection on the course of trade-union development, and ranges over the whole field of British trade-union history, from the early craft societies to the structure of modern trade unionism. It begins by illuminating the problems associated with researching and writing in this field, and goes on to trace the main trends of trade-union development, linking these with modern trade-union problems.
Particular attention is paid to some of the important aspects of this history the Owenite period, the so-called New Model unions, the origins of the Trades Union Congress, and more recent changes in trade-union organization. These themes are woven into a broad study which includes detailed investigation of individual trade unions (particularly the printing unions, and also an early employers association) with a general review of the whole movement.
Trade-union history is closely bound up with social conditions, and Professor Musson also examines a number of such related aspects as the struggle for a free press, the origins of the co-operative movement and the early factory system. This classic book was first published in1974.

Jonathan Garlock's Guide to the Local Assemblies of the Knights of Labor makes accessible a great deal of information necessary for understanding and evaluating the history and impact of this organization. It provides information on twelve thousand local assemblies organized by the Knights of Labor between 1869 and 1896. Organized geographically by state, county, and community, the Guide provides the assigned local assembly number, dates of existence, and community population for each local. The occupations of the members are given; where known, members' race, sex, and ethnicity are provided.

This comprehensive survey of continuity and change in trade unions looks at five primarily English-speaking countries: the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The authors consider the recent re-examination by trade union movements of the basis of union organization and activity in the face of a harsher economic and political climate. One of the impetuses for this re-examination has been the recent history of unions in the USA. American models of renewal have inspired Australia, New Zealand and the UK, while Canada has undergone a cautious examination of the US model with an attempt to develop a distinctive approach. This book aims to provide a thorough grounding for informed discussion and debate about the position and place of trade unions in modern economies.

The first cross-national study of unions during the troubled past decade in labor relations. The editors have selected six nations as representative of the different ways unions in western industrialized countries participate in politics and the economy. They examine and compare how each system has been affected by and has responded to similar political, social, and economic changes and trends.

Sex Worker Unionisation examines the challenges and opportunities offered by unionisation for Sex Workers. Exploring unionisation projects undertaken by Sex Workers in most major economies, this ground-breaking study shows how sex-workers have collectively sought to control and organise their work and working lives by co-determining the wage-effort with their de facto employers. It highlights the range of significant obstacles that have impeded their progress, including owner hostility, state regulation and the sway of radical feminism that is present in many unions. Outlining a more efficacious model for sex worker unionisation based upon combining occupation unionism and social movement unionism, this pioneering and controversial new book offers an important study of business organization in a unique industry.