In his visionary analysis, Charles Heckscher argues for "associational unionism," a model outside the tradition of American labor law. Rejecting the usual boundary between workers and management, Heckscher defines a genuinely new system of representation that encourages multilateral negotiation involving management, different groups of employees, and other interested parties, such as consumers or environmentalists. The New Unionism, a Twentieth Century Fund Book, was first published in 1988. This edition includes a new introduction by the author in which he reviews the significance of recent economic and political trends and addresses some of the criticisms of the concept of an associational union.

The rise in standards of living throughout the U. S. in the wake of World War II brought significant changes to the lives of southern textile workers. Mill workers' wages rose, their purchasing power grew, and their economic expectations increased--with little help from the unions. Timothy Minchin argues that the reasons behind the failure of textile unions in the postwar South lie not in stereotypical assumptions of mill workers' passivity or anti-union hostility but in these large-scale social changes. Minchin addresses the challenges faced by the TWUA--competition from nonunion mills that matched or exceeded union wages, charges of racism and radicalism within the union, and conflict between its northern and southern branches--and focuses especially on the devastating general strike of 1951. Drawing extensively on oral histories and archival records, he presents a close look at southern textile communities within the context of the larger history of southern labor, linking events in the textile industry to the broader social and economic impact of World War II on American society. |Minchin argues that the reasons behind the failure of textile unions in the postwar South lie not in stereotypical assumptions of mill workers' passivity or antiunion hostility but in large-scale social changes. Drawing extensively on oral histories and archival records, he looks at southern textile communities within the context of the larger history of southern labor, linking events in the textile industry to the broader social and economic impact of World War II on American society.

This innovative text aims to provide a comprehensive overview and comparative analysis of European labour movements from 1900 to 1990. The authors examine the links between workers and organized labour in seven European countries - Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden and The Netherlands - and focus on areas such as the role of the state, labour markets, and occupation and class.
Previous works have analysed more limited periods and this has resulted in a compartmentalised approach to the subject. The broad timeframe adopted by the distinguished contributors will provide readers with fresh insights and will prompt a re-examination of currently accepted frameworks.
A welcome companion to Dick Geary's ‘Labour and Socialist Movements in Europe before 1914’, this book will be widely used by students and scholars of modern European History and Politics.

This book explicitly addresses racism in the paid workplace, showing how racism, and by corollary sexism, are systemic to society. Based on extensive research on workers in both the Health Care sector and in the Garment Manufacturing sector, the author succeeds in capturing the daily lived realities in the workplace.

"Griswold del Castillo and Garcia have written a biography of Chavez, but it is also a history of the Mexican American labor movement and the Mexican American struggle for civil rights.... T]his is a fine book."--- Choice " D]eserves to be read not only by persons studying the Mexican American experience but also by those interested in labor studies, U.S.-Mexican relations, and U.S. civilization in the 1960s and 1970s, including politics and society."--- Western Historical Quarterly "Intended for scholars and general readers alike, the fascinating life story reads like a novel.... T]his sorely needed biography updates all the others."--- Multicultural Review When farm worker and labor organizer Cesar Chavez burst upon America's national scene in 1965, U.S. readers and viewers were witnessing the emergence of a new Mexican American, or Chicano, movement. This biography of Chavez by Richard Griswold del Castillo and Richard A. Garcia is the first to approach Chavez's life-his courageous acts, his turning points, his many perceived personas-in the context of Chicano and American history. It reveals a shy, quiet man who was launched by events into a maelstrom of campesino strikes, religious fervor, and nonviolent battles for justice. Among his friends and supporters he counted Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and millions across America who rallied to his cause. In Griswold del Castillo and Garcia's biography, Chavez's life mirrors major events in Mexican American history: Mexican immigration during the 1920s; forced repatriation in the 1930s; segregation in public schools; Mexican American contributions during World War II; the Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles; formation of Mexican American organizations to advance civil and political rights; the Chicano movement of the 1960s and early 1970s; the emergence of a conservative political backlash in the 1980s; and, finally, the "new immigration" in the 1990s. Cesar Chavez was touched by all these events, and his story is both private and part of a collective experience. Ultimately the authors see Chavez's significance as moral. In an age notable for its confusion about-if not lack of moral values, Cesar Chavez stands as proof that America still has people of rare courage and conviction who devote their lives to a righteous cause, to self sacrifice and nonviolent struggle against overwhelming odds. Chavez consistently respected all ethnic and religious groups, rejected materialism, and, above all, fought for justice. Griswold del Castillo and Garcia's biography tells the inspiring story of a man who lived a simple life and preached a simple guiding dictum: Si Se Puede-Yes, it can be done. Richard Griswold del Castillo was born and raised in Santa Ana California; his father was born in Minneapolis Minnesota and his mother was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He graduated from Santa Ana High school in 1960, went on study at UC Berkeley and the University of Dijon, France before receiving his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from UCLA . In 1992 he was a Fulbright Scholar in Mexico City, he was a visiting professor at UC Berkeley in 1994, and he became Professor Emeritus at San Diego State University in 2005. Richard A. Garcia, Professor of Ethnic Studies at California State University-Hayward, is the author of The Rise of the Mexican American Middle Class: San Antonio, 1929-1941.

David Walsh examines the historically insular unions in the airline industry, where the need for cooperation has been heightened in the era since deregulation. Guided by organizational theory, he analyzes extensive data on pairs of unions, coalitions, and the airline union network as a whole, finding a complex web of connections. Drawing on quantitative data from his network analysis, on the historical background, and on descriptive case studies, including the Eastern Airlines strike, Walsh identifies the possibilities and the limitations of labor solidarity.

A ground-breaking study of the Hadrami community in Indonesia. The book considers the evolution of Indonesian Arab identity in the context of the rise of nationalism throughout Southeast Asia during the early twentieth century.

Union of Parts examines one of the central puzzles in the economic and political successes of West Germany (FRG). In the decades between world war and reunification with the East, the FRG provided a model for combining high rates of unionization and substantial labor peace indeed, for collaboration between organized labor and organized capital as both groups faced the dislocations involved in adjusting to a changing global marketplace."

This classic study of the American working class, originally published in 1973, is now back in print with a new introduction and epilogue by the author. An innovative blend of first-person experience and original scholarship, Aronowitz traces the historical development of the American working class from post-Civil War times and shows why radical movements have failed to overcome the forces that tend to divde groups of workers from one another. The rise of labor unions is analyzed, as well as their decline as a force for social change. Aronowitz's new introduction situates the book in the context of developments in current scholarship and the epilogue discusses the effects of recent economic and political changes in the American labor movement.

Trade Union Functions and Services: An instructional aid for worker students This guide, aimed at trade union educators, is about the teaching of collective bargaining. From the methods and techniques described, the trainer can put together a tailor-made course and construct his or her own training modules. Suggested case exercises are also provided.

Adds significant new facts to these TUEL years and their import. More on the miners, Ladies' Garment workers, Fur workers, Amalgameted Clothing, Auto, Textile, Maritime and Agricultural workers; Labor and Fascism; Sacco-Vanzetti frameup; Black Workers; American T.U. delegation to Soviet Union; Changes in trade union policy.

The past decade has seen renewed devotion on the part of many unions to the organizing process. Yet management opposition has been equally intense. This book explores the nature of the strategies pursued by unions and management during both new organizing drives and employer ""deunionization"" efforts. The elements of well-designed strategies are described within a framework developed by the author. The book addresses a number of issues, including the manner in which employers and unions formulate strategies, the specific tactics utilized by both sides, and the impact of strategies and tactics on union organizing effectiveness. The study relies both on published research and data assembled by the author. Significant features of the book are its thorough analysis of a variety of nonconventional union organizing tactics (eg. ""blitz"" campaigns, associate membership programmes, corporate campaigns, in-plant strategies, internal organizing); an in-depth examination of the role of labour relations consultants in organizing drives and deunionization efforts; and assessment of the ways in which internal politics inhibit many unions and the ways in which tactics are linked together in a variety of settings. The book provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging treatment of what is known about why and how unions and management act during unionization and deunionization efforts. It should be useful to practitioners and researchers alike.

An overview of recent research on labour and socialist movements before the First World War, focusing on six major countries: Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Britain and Russia. Each chapter deals not only with pre-1914 labour movements but also with the everyday life experiences of the industrial working class. The collection combines traditional labour history with an evaluation of the rich literature on 'people's history' which has grown up in recent years.

Conflict between labor and capital reflects the competitive and conflict-laden relations within the working class itself, Peter Swenson maintains. Fair Shares examines the internal conflicts of organized labor regarding distribution of wages in order to explain both union leaders' market-structuring objectives in the "political economy", and their imperative to shape and fulfill workers' notions of pay fairness in the "moral economy". Swenson develops an innovative theoretical approach to labor politics through a detailed comparative analysis of union centralization and collective bargaining in Sweden and Germany since the turn of the century. To create solidarity and overcome workers' opposition to centralized control of the labor movement, Swenson argues, union leaders depend heavily on moral appeals concerning fair pair distribution and on success in fulfilling workers' expectation of fairness. Swenson interprets union politics as the attempt to overcome what he calls the "wage policy trilemma"

Respecting both the history a labor theories and the variety of theoretical points of view concerning the labor movement, this collection of readings includes selections by Karl Marx, V. I. Lenin, William Haywood, Georges Sorel, Stanley Aronowitz, John R. Commons, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Thorstein Veblen, Henry Simons, and John Kenneth Galbraith, among others. Intending this as a text for classroom use, Larson and Nissen have arranged the readings according to the social role assigned to the labor movement by each theory. The text's major divisions consider the labor movement as an agent of revolution, as a business institution, as an agent of industrial reform, as a psychological reaction to industrialism, as a moral force, as a destructive monopoly, and as a subordinate mechanism in pluralist industrial society. Such groupings allow for ready comparison of divergent views of the origins, development, and future of the labor movement.

A major, landmark study that is a significant addition to modern labor history.

It is a bedrock American belief: the 1950s were a golden age of prosperity for autoworkers. Flush with high wages and enjoying the benefits of generous union contracts, these workers became the backbone of a thriving blue-collar middle class. It is also a myth. Daniel J. Clark began by interviewing dozens of former autoworkers in the Detroit area and found a different story--one of economic insecurity caused by frequent layoffs, unrealized contract provisions, and indispensable second jobs. Disruption in Detroit is a vivid portrait of workers and an industry that experienced anything but stable prosperity. As Clark reveals, the myths--whether of rising incomes or hard-nosed union bargaining success--came later. In the 1950s, ordinary autoworkers, union leaders, and auto company executives recognized that although jobs in their industry paid high wages, they were far from steady and often impossible to find.

In 1995, promising a more active political presence for unions, John Sweeney was elected president of the AFL-CIO. Labor would develop a "new voice," one that could not be ignored or taken for granted by Democratic and Republican politicians. However, by the summer of 2005 opposition to Sweeney's leadership threatened to divide the labor movement.

In "The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics," Peter L. Francia discusses the effects of Sweeney's controversial tenure as president and assesses labor's influence on American political elections and legislation. Drawing on interviews with union and business leaders, as well as campaign-finance and public-opinion data, Francia argues that Sweeney has employed a more effective and expansive grassroots political operation than his predecessors. He challenges critics who dismiss Sweeney's efforts as a failure but cautions that the decline in union membership presents a serious crisis for the labor movement.

When unions emphasize "grassroots" strategies they can effectively compete against the financial power of big business and can make a significant difference in congressional politics. Francia analyzes organized labor's political activities, its coalitions with other interest groups, and its influence on voter turnout, election results, and votes in Congress. He also examines the effects of Sweeney's embrace of progressive causes and labor's increasing willingness to challenge Democrats who vote against labor's interests.

For all his successes, Sweeney's tenure has not been without its problems. Labor's presence in American politics is threatened by shrinking membership in unions. Francia suggests that if unions want to remain a viable political force in congressional politics, they must devote more resources to organizing workers.

Why is the American working class different? For generations, scholars and activists alike have wrestled with this question, with an eye to explaining why workers in the United States are not more like their radicalized European counterparts. Approaching the question from a different angle, "Reds or Rackets?" provides a fascinating examination of the American labor movement from the inside out, as it were, by analyzing the divergent sources of radicalism and conservatism within it. Kimeldorf focuses on the political contrast between East and West Coast longshoremen from World War I through the early years of the Cold War, when the difference between the two unions was greatest. He explores the politics of the West Coast union that developed into a hot bed of working class insurgency and contrasts it with the conservative and racket-ridden East Coast longshoreman's union. Two unions, based in the same industry - as different as night and day. The question posed by Kimeldorf is, why? Why 'reds' on one coast and racketeers on the other? To answer this question Kimeldorf provides a systematic comparison of the two unions, illuminating the political consequences of occupational recruitment, industry structure, mobilization strategies, and industrial conflict during this period. In doing so, "Reds or Rackets?" sheds new light on the structural and historical bases of radical and conservative unionism. More than a comparative study of two unions, "Reds or Rackets?" is an exploration of the dynamics of trade unionism, sources of membership loyalty, and neglected aspects of working class consciousness. It is an incisive and valuable study that will appeal to historians, social scientists, and anyone interested in understanding the political trajectory of twentieth-century American labor.

A history of the largest union in the AFL-CIO and its growth in a major American city.

On a grey winter morning in Seattle, in February 1919, 110 local unions shut down the entire city. Shut it down and took it over, rendering the authorities helpless. For five days, workers from all trades and sectors-streetcar drivers, telephone operators, musicians, miners, loggers, shipyard workers-fed the people, ensured that babies had milk, that the sick were cared for. They did this with without police-and they kept the peace themselves. This had never happened before in the United States and has not happened since. Those five days became known as the General Strike of Seattle. Chances are you've never heard of it. In Radical Seattle, Cal Winslow explains why. Winslow describes how Seattle's General Strike was actually the high point in a long process of early twentieth century socialist and working-class organization, when everyday people built a viable political infrastructure that seemed, to governments and corporate bosses, radical-even "Bolshevik." Drawing from original research, Winslow depicts a process that, in struggle, fused the celebrated itinerants of the West with the workers of a modern industrial city. But this book is not only an account of the heady days of February 1919, it is also about the making of a class capable of launching one of America's most gripping strikes-what E.P. Thompson once referred to as "the long tenacious revolutionary tradition of the common people."

On 16th August 2012, thirty-four black mineworkers were gunned down by the police under the auspices of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) in what has become known as the Marikana massacre. This attempt to drown independent working-class power in blood backfired and is now recognised as a turning point in the country's history. The Spirit of Marikana tells the story of the uncelebrated leaders at the world's three largest platinum mining companies who survived the barrage of state violence, intimidation, torture and murder which was being perpetrated during this tumultuous period. What began as a discussion about wage increases between two workers in the changing rooms at one mine became a rallying cry for economic freedom and basic dignity. This gripping ethnographic account is the first comprehensive study of this movement, revealing how seemingly ordinary people became heroic figures who transformed their workplace and their country.

Published to coincide with the centenary of the founding of the Actors' Equity Association in 1913, Weavers of Dreams, Unite! explores the history of actors' unionism in the United States from the late nineteenth century to the onset of the Great Depression. Drawing upon hitherto untapped archival resources in New York and Los Angeles, Sean P. Holmes documents how American stage actors used trade unionism to construct for themselves an occupational identity that foregrounded both their artistry and their respectability. In the process, he paints a vivid picture of life on the theatrical shop floor in an era in which economic, cultural, and technological changes were transforming the nature of acting as work. The engaging study offers important insights into the nature of cultural production in the early twentieth century, the role of class in the construction of cultural hierarchy, and the special problems that unionization posed for workers in the commercial entertainment industry.