The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor
Birth of a New Workers' Movement or Death Throes of the Old?
Early, Steve
Date Written: 2011-03-01
Publisher: Haymarket Books, Chicago, USA
Year Published: 2011
Pages: 440pp ISBN: 9781608460991
Library of Congress Number: HD6510 Dewey: 331.880973
Resource Type: Book
Cx Number: CX16264
Steve Early explains why and how the 2008-2010 battles within the progressive wing of the U.S. labour movement occurred.
Abstract:
Between 2008 and 2010, the progressive wing of the U.S. labor movement tore itself apart in a series of internecine struggles. More than $140 million was expended, by all sides, on organizing conflicts that tarnished union reputations and undermined the campaign for real health care and labor law reform. Campus and community allies, along with many rank-and-file union members, were left angered and dismayed.
In this incisive new book, labor journalist Steve Early draws on scores of interviews and on his own union organizing experience to explain why and how these labor civil wars occurred. He examines the bitter disputes about union structure, membership rights, organizing strategy, and contract standards that enveloped SEIU, UNITE HERE, the California Nurses Association, and independent organizations like the Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico and the new National Union of Healthcare Workers in California. Along the way, we meet rank-and-file activists, local union officers, national leaders, and concerned friends of labor who were drawn into the fray.
[From publisher]
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