Economic-union Books

1877: the naked face of capitalism in America. In the midst of a deep-going economic depression, bosses imposed massive layoffs and deep pay cuts, and workers responded. From Chicago to St. Louis to New York to Philadelphia, rail workers, iron workers, carpenters, meatpackers and others launched a wave of massive strikes and street protests. The bosses and their government mobilized all their forces against the workers: courts, the press, police, the national guard and federal troops. While the workers were eventually beaten in these battles, the lessons learned helped forge political class consciousness and lay the basis for further struggles.

Foner's book is an exciting history of these days. He quotes extensively from labor and capitalist press of the day, from speeches and declarations by workers' leaders, and from government reports and documents to give a real feel of the roots of the uprising and the conflicting interests that lay behind it. I particularly found useful the description of what different workers leaders did at the time-- from conservative trade union presidents to militant socialists. Also the challenge and experiences of native-born and immigrant workers fighting together against their common exploiters. There is a lot to learn from this book today!

While this book gives a rich detail of the day-to-day struggles in 1877, two others will help get a broader perspective on the key issues political posed: American Labor Struggles 1877-1934, by Samuel Yellen, and Revolutionary Continuity, Marxist Leadership in the U.S. 1948-1917, by Farrell Dobbs.

The great labor uprising of 1877 started when a strike by rail workers swept across the country and was joined by many thousand, including the unemployed. What this book clearly shows is how interconnected U.S. workers were-how mutually affected by economic disaster-and how willing to embark on massive and militant resistance. Are workers that different today? Are today's bosses-as they push for wage concessions and bailouts--that much different from the rail bosses of 1877? This book makes you think more seriously about the great events that could quickly develop out of today's economic downturn. If not available from Amazon, booksfrompathfinder will have it--click on "new and used" near the top of the page.

In 1877 the great robber barons of steel and rail-Vanderbilt, Fisk, Gould, and others-appeared to have consolidated their rule over land and labor in the post-Civil War period. In their quest for infinitely expanding wealth, they subjected the workers under their command to ever-increasing demands for more work and reduced their wages time and again to below starvation levels. As thousands were laid off in the economic downturn of the 1870s, protests developed among the workers, and police were mobilized to quell the disturbances.
It was not the greed and brutality of the capitalist overlords that provoked a mass rebellion. It was that they made life virtually impossible for the working people. The great strike was centered in rail and began in the summer of 1877 in response to yet another wage cut.
A group of bold rail workers in West Virginia walked off the job. With no union, no organization, and nothing but a desperate urge to reclaim their humanity, their initiative spread like wildfire to thousands of other rail workers from Baltimore to St. Louis in a rolling surge of strikes, mass mobilizations and confrontations with the armed minions of capital. Ultimately general strikes of all workers were precipitated in St. Louis, San Francisco and other cities.
The rail barons sought to put down the uprising with military force, mobilizing state militias, police and national guard troops, firing into the crowds, killing dozens. For them it was only a question of forcing the masses to do their bidding. They believed that they were the rulers, the workers were there to serve them.
This great labor battle awakened the true spirit of liberty and solidarity among the laboring masses. In their struggle against the tyranny of capital they became the one true embodiment of democracy and the only hope of progress for toiling humanity. They laid the foundation stone for the worker's movement in the U.S. It gave a huge impetus to the organization of labor unions as well as the beginnings of labor political action: the formation of a workers party.
Reading this book brings home the reality of the class struggle in the U.S. and helps us to understand how and why it developed as it did. It also helps us understand why this class struggle won't go away as long as capitalism exists. It helps us to appreciate the organized struggle of the workers as the only way forward for humanity in its quest for a truly livable planet.

The summer of 1877 saw both the first nationwide strike and the first general strike. Massive cutbacks over several preceding years led to this resistance.

Yet because the government necessarily represents and supports the domination of capital over human beings - the ups and downs of its luck displace thousands and in its crises when it prefers to do nothing at all it condemns whole populations to hunger and war - every strike necessarily grows over into politics as an instinctive, just measure of self-defense. The larger the strike, the more acute the politics become.

At that time, a party existed that challenged the "justice" and logic of capital's rule. Its partisans learned that each of its two factions were correct in what they stood for. Both the trade union struggle and the ballot box contention are valid ways for working people to put forth their strength, and to learn first hand about the limitations of U.S. "freedom."

As we live in a period of falling profit rates, not unlike 1873-5, the lessons of previous struggles are of first importance.

Pathfinder Press is sometimes jestingly referred to as "the martyr's" publisher, because so many of its titles print verbatim the words of working class heroes. In the chapter on Chicago, we can witness the agitational power of Albert Parsons, who ten years later earned the title of Haymarket Martyr in the fight for the eight hour day.

I used this book so much that I wore it out! I had to get it re-binded. I needed this book for just about every course I took in Labor
Studies. It is a great reference book to have.

I first purchased this book two years ago. I have used it in every labor studies class that I have taken and I wouldn't dream of not using it. The definitions are precise and clear. I feel so strongly about this book that I recently purchased another copy for my Local Union President. This book is a must have.

For 12 bucks, no one could find a more rich, and most important, more concise compendium of the American labor movement and American labor at work. Murray et. al. have done a service to everyone with this thoughtful, experienced addition to the record of American toilers.

This book has a lot of history and definitions included. Awsome book. Every worker should know the struggle labor has indured.

The version I have is 1985, I have only read a few lines but she has charisma and passion that I wish activists and politicians had for the disadvantaged's God given rights and liberites in the US and abroad. Especially when in Columbia Coca Cola asked the Columbian govt to murder labor leaders and then had the Columbian military use gun point to make Coca Cola workers resign union membership. Then Coca Cola cut worker's wages in half. I wrote Mother Jones about possibly republishing this text.

Read this book and you'll learn about the life of a heroic woman, but also about the bitter struggles working people fought in the US a hundred years ago. You won't get this history on the History Channel!
Pathfinder Press is dedicated to, among other things, publishing the speeches and writings of revolutionary figures like Mother Jones. So, in this book, you won't read some professor's interpretation of her, you'll read her own words. And what words she spoke! Her speeches and letters spring from the page full of passion and courage.
She went to where the miners were fighting and dying and stood up to the cops and the goons who tried to intimidate her. She was braver and bolder than most (male) labor leaders of her time, and in every way a superior human being to those who claim to "lead" the labor unions today.

A wonderful collection: nearly 40 speeches by Mother Jones, the tireless champion of workers in struggle at the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th. Also includes articles by Jones written for labor and socialist papers of the time, press reports about her activities, and dozens of letters she wrote to other labor and socialist leaders.

Mother Jones traveled incessantly, giving speeches and organizing coal miners and copper miners, textile workers, construction workers. She exposed and decried the abuses of the capitalist system. She stood up to the richest employers, their cops, courts, the National Guard, the U.S. Congress and presidents. She championed workers framed-up and victimized in the course of many struggles-- including insurgent fighter from Mexico during its 1910 revolution.

Her courage, honesty and perseverance should be a better-known example for workers, farmers and young people today. She has lots of short, snappy observations I find useful to raise at work, to help get others thinking a bit. And I found her letters, which reflect her striving to promote the most uncompromising, militant and class-conscious wing of unions and the Socialist Party, especially interesting.

Coal miners and retirees are still dying of Black Lung disease without proper medical care or compensation, and Black Lung widows are once again marching on Washington. These are good reasons to read this inspiring volume, which captures the historic voice of the coal miners-Mother Jones. A woman of the working class, she took part in almost every major battle by coal miners from the 1890s through the 1920s. She declared her solidarity with all victims of class rule from New England to Japan and left the world with many famous dictums of the struggle: "Don't mourn, organize!" or "I'm not here to beg , I want to fight and take what belongs to us!" She joined social struggles like the fight against child labor. When the newspapers refused to cover a strike involving child textile workers because the mill owners held stock in the newspapers, Mother Jones declared: "Well, I've got stock in these little children and I'll arrange a little publicity." And she did. While the U.S. was waging war on Mexico, Mother Jones was meeting with Pancho Villa to promote working class solidarity. We are also reminded that the task she described is still our task today: "Never before in human history were men and women called upon to link hands in the mighty battle for the emancipation of the working class from the robbing class." Mother Jones proves that you can't count yourself or any one else out-Mother Jones didn't become an activist until she was in her fifties. This is the total book by and about Mother Jones, with valuable background material by Philip Foner, the noted historian.

This book can be divided into three sections:

1) The "enlightenment section" - This section is worth one hundred thousand dollars and should be read by every graduate student and mid-career scientist. This is the best part of the book. It gives the reader the desire and courage to change. It contains:

a. Forward - by the President of the National Academy of Sciences
b. Preface - by the author
c. Chapters 1 & 2

This section does a good job at changing the mindset of a young or mid-career scientist. The author convincingly told the readers that the total available job market for a scientist is much bigger than just the realm of academia. Also, the author successfully conveyed that the skills a scientist acquired while getting a PhD are also the ones highly useful in the corporate world. Finally, the author bluntly told the reader the some of the skills and habits that make a person successful in the academia are bad for the world outside of the academia.

2) The "principle section" - This section is worth ten thousand dollars. This part is the second best of the book. It gives the reader the principles of how to change ones job from inside the academia to the outside world. It contains:

a. Chapter 3 - the stages of change
b. Chapter 4 - the proper career planning process

Why is this section valuable, yet not as good as the first section? It is because it contains the same good career planning principles for every career type, not just for the scientists. While the principles described are good, they are not unique, nor earth-shattering. However, the Stanford Career Planning Model in p32 and the "80:10:10 Rule" in p33 are outstanding. These two pieces of information alone are worth much more than the price of the book.

3) The "do-it section" - This section is worth one thousand dollars. This part is the least valuable part of the book. It gives the reader step-by-step procedure of how to look for a job in the outside world. It contains chapters 5 to 13.

This section is least valuable because it is not much different from the myriad job hunting books that were written by others. However, chapter 8 on the difference between CVs and resumes, and chapter 10 on resume case studies are very outstanding. These two chapters are worthy of careful reading and are not found in ordinary job searching books.

**Note: The author, by revealing an important piece of information in this book, is worthy of great adulation and applause for daring to speak out. In page 1, this author points out the erroneous prediction of shortage of young scientists by National Science Foundation (NSF), which caused "one of the worst job markets for scientists in the past 40 years."

This book is a must for young scientists just starting out and mid-career scientists looking for employment opportunities in academic, research, and industry. It offers the best advice I've come across on a whole range of job search and career issues, from taking stock of where you are now and where you want to go, to getting there! It's helped me and I know it will help others who wish to make the most of their advanced science education.

I think this book is the best resource out there for PhD engineers and scientists looking for a non-academic job, although it has some great pointers on the academic search as well. What I found particularly helpful was the list of transferable skills. I learned more than I thought in grad school! The book also has great practical advice on thinking about the type of job that you'd like best. The advice on resume and cover letter writing is solid and helpful. I have bought this book for several friends who are finishing up their PhDs.

This book has been very helpful to me in deciding what I want to do and how to promote the skills I have for the career I choose. After a couple of years of grad school, I realized that I absolutely did not want a career in academia. Reading through this book liberated me from thinking that academia was where I was doomed to go. I have choices. And I can make my choice happen.

This book is definitely a must-have for any scientist seeking employment, particularly outside of academia. The book highlights that you can do anything with your degree, whether or not you are seeking a science or non-science career.

¡Un libro fascinante y revelador!

Cuando los capitalistas norteamericanos se prepararon para buscar el dominio mundial a través de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, intentaron obstaculizar oposición a sus planes con leyes represivas y ataques contra el movimiento obrero dentro de los EE. UU. En 1941 encausaron a 13 dirigentes del Partido Socialista de los Trabajadores y del movimiento sindical, en un juicio amañado culpándoles con ser subversivos.

Pero los socialistas aprovecharon la lucha, utilizando el corte capitalista como tribuna donde explicaron las ideas e historia del movimiento comunista. También lanzaron una campaña de defensa que sigue siendo ejemplar hoy en día.

Este libro publica la transcripción del testimonio de James P. Cannon, secretario nacional del partido, presentando sus ideas y contestando a los fiscales del gobierno. Resultó una de las mejores introducciones al movimiento socialista que conozco.

También presenta un debate entre Cannon y otro revolucionario, Grandizo Munis, sobre la estrategia de los socialistas en hacerle frente al reto capitalista. Cannon explica lecciones importantissimas en cuanto a cómo defenderse en tales circunstancias.

Aquí un dirigente obrero dentro de las entrañas de la Bestia Imperio
Yanki -durante su juicio por "sedición", o sea la conspiración para
derrocar el gobierno- explica como la clase trabajadora y sus aliados
puede tomar el poder estatal en los mismos Estados Unidos. También
explica porque el estalinismo es el oppositivo del comunismo (como Fidel
Castro lo llamó años después). Cannon, el acusado, describa la
experiencia de los trabajadores "trotskistas" en la dirección del
sindicato de camioneros en Miniápolis, Minnesota durante una epoca de combate de clases en este país. También detalle la
política comunista en contra las amenazas del fascismo y la guerra
mundial. Aunque este juicio fue en 1940, nos pone claro como contestar
estas cuestiones políticas fundamentales que la crisis del capitalismo
mundial nos enfrenta hoy en día.

Aquí un dirigente obrero en las entrañas de la bestia imperial yanqui - durante su juicio por " conspirar derrocamiento del gobierno de E.U."-como la clase trabajadora y sus aliados pueden tomar el poder estatal en los mismos Estados Unidos. También explica el estalinismo como el oppositivo del comunismo ( como Fidel llamó años despues ) , la experiencia de los trabajadores " trotskistas" en la dirección del sindicato de camioneros en Minneapolis, Minnesota , y la politica comunista en contra las amenazas del fascismo y guerra mundial. Aunque este juicio fue en 1940, ¿ no es claro que entender como contestar estas cuestiones politicas son fundamentales enfrentar en accioón obrera el crisis del capitalismo mundial de hoy día ?

Fighting for what's right means that when the government threw the leaders of the Socialist Workers Party and fighting labor leaders intojail in 1941 for defying Roosevelt's war drive and Tobin, the bureaucrat that ran the Teamsters union then, Cannon and the other revolutionist's respond by explaining why they were socialists, how the fight for a workers and farmers government in this country will proceed. This book has all the answers to any question about the fight for socialism, not only in the USA but anywhere else. It also contains a lot of history, a lot of humor, and a lot of Cannon's generous wisdom and wit. Great to have this classic manual of revolutionary thinking finally available in Spanish

This book takes a clear look at effectiveness of unions from soup to nuts... from priorities in organizing non-union employees to focusing on priorities once a union is in place. It contains frank and pragmatic discussion and themes that I believe would be useful for union leaders in making the most of whatever circumstances in which they find themselves.

This text can be equally helpful in the field as well as the classroom. Dr. Clark's expertise and research in union building shows through in his logical and clear methods.

A smart and savvy look at the way unions can help in managing our lives. Dr. Clark adds a touch of class to the usual ho-hum union research books. This one is a keeper and one that every student in labor studies and industrial relations should keep on their bedside for moments of clarity in which unionization becomes the clear answer in their lives.

This book uses oral history, company, and union archives to tell a riveting story about an attempt by poor (mostly black) workers to build a union against heavy odds. This book tells us so much about twentieth century American history, and it does it with great skill. All the great themes of labor's downfall are here. The inability to organize the South. The racism and anti-communism of high union officials. The failure of Operation Dixie. The vicious backlash of employers and the Democratic party against the movement for working class power. This book is a great example of micro history used to illuminate important national trends. I cannot recommend a book more highly.

This is a terrific book--an important history that brings together a story of race, labor unions, economic change, politics, and culture, but never loses sight of the actual people involved. Very well written--not dry and academic like some history, but also very rich analytically. Buy it and read it!

In this wonderful book, African American tobacco workers tell their own story of civil rights struggle and union organizing. It is long, but so was the struggle, and I couldn't put it down. Oral interviews give us the black workers' own accounts, sending, for once, the white supremacists to the back of the bus.
Read it. You will find a South you never thought you would find.

I worked for Bethlehem Steel during the latter time period that this book covers and I knew some of the players Strohmeyer mentioned. No one could have better described the times and circumstances that brought down this mammoth company as well this book did. Unfortunately, Strohmeyer died before the bitter end of Bethlehem Steel and so was not able to chronicle it's dying moments. At 99 years old, Bethlehem ceased to exist on December 31, 2003. The company's plants and other assets were either donated to a historical society or purchased at pennnies on the dollar by International Steel Group, a newly formed steel company which successfully revived several bankrupt steel companies and merged them together into a cohesive business. International Steel Group was subsequently purchased by Mittal Steel of the Netherlands and designated Mittal Steel USA. The old Bethlehem plants continue to operate under the new owner. This book is a fascinating, easy to read chronicle of corporate blundering so profound that one wonders how the company lasted for nearly a century. Sadly, even in its last days, Bethlehem managers simply couldn't fathom the drastic changes that were needed to save the company.

Bethlehem Steel is a huge part of my family history. My mother, father and both of their fathers all were employed for many years by this once-great company. Complacency seems too mild a word for what ailed this company. This book documents the fall of Bethlehem Steel [inventor of the H-beam... predecessor to the I-beam necessary for many of the tall buildings and skyscrapers we have today]. I really like this book but I am probably biased as I grew up in Baltimore, MD and Bethelehem, PA. Billy Joel even wrote a song about the influence of this company [not a pretty picture] in his song "Allentown". There's a lot of history here and a lot of explanation for why I had to leave all my childhood friends behind when the company started falling apart.

This was a fascinating page-turner, written by someone who was intimately familiar with Bethlehem Steel because he lived in its home town for decades, serving as the editor of the local paper. One of the best non-fiction (I almost didn't qualify this statement with that word) books I've read in a long time. Now that The Steel is gone forever, I'd love to be able to persuade Mr. Strohmeyer to write a companion volume to this one telling us just how the end came, in the same detailed analytic manner. We might be able to learn from others' mistakes. The failure of this once great company is a tragedy and is a sad example of what happens when American labor, management, and government all become too arrogant and complacent. Bye-bye profits. Bye-bye jobs. What's next? Bye-bye national defense? If steel was The Basic Industry, then everyone working in industrial America needs to read this book. Sooner or later, you'll probably deal with some of the issues raised here.

Interested in buying this book, or the one on meatpackers by Roger Horowitz? See the symposium on Halpern and Horowitz's work in the journal _Labor History_ 40:2 (1999). They have also jointly authored a collection of oral history interviews -- all available from Amazon

This is one of the best labor history books I've read: it is scholarly, no doubt about that, but SO, SO "readable." Almost like a novel at points. It's important, too, because it sheds much light on the way in which blacks and whites managed to unite around common interests. It also makes wonderful use of oral histories, so that the characters really come to life.

Rick B Halpern is a renowned commentator on the American Meatpacking Industry, and in this meticolusly researched book he chronicles the results of years of inquiry into what Chicago proletarians in hushed tones refer to as 'the big slaughterhouse.' Don't be put off by the picture of the Cow being killed on the front - there's plenty more meat inside and it's not covered in blood and guts. I was particularly impressed by his use of oral history. Too many modern historians ignore this valuable resource, but Halpern is a man on a mission and no lack of written records is going to get in his way. Overall, I found this book was a valuable contribution to an underresearched area and I believe should be read by anyone interested in modern Northern American Labour history.

Strongly recommended reading, Out Of The Jungle: Jimmy Hoffa And The Remaking Of The American Working Class by Thaddeus Russell (Assistant Professor of History, Barnard College) is an informed and informative biography of the famous labor leader Jimmy Hoffa. The reader is provided with his checkered life story and the murderous tragedy that ultimately befell him at the hands of organized crime figures. A detailed and in-depth study, Out Of The Jungle is unflinching in its close attention to Hoffa's diverse virtues and follies alike.

Walk up to a group of twenty-five Americans on any street corner and throw out some names. Try Al Gore, Dick Cheney, Bill Frist, or the Governor of the state you happen to be in and see how many in the group recognize the name. Then try the name Jimmy Hoffa. Most of the group may not really know who Hoffa was but they will be familiar with the name. For better or worse, just like Elvis, Jimmy Hoffa has become an American icon. Just before he began his term in prison, Hoffa was even compared to Christ by a local leader of the NAACP.

Thaddeus Russell has taken on the task of telling the story of Hoffa the Teamster. This is not really a biography of Hoffa the man for his family is barely mentioned nor is his daily life dealt with. This is the story of Hoffa and his Union and the history of the man and the organization are so deeply intertwined that this almost becomes a biography of the IBT. Russell really begins his story with Hoffa's early employment and his entry into the Union. From that point the author takes the reader along for the ride as the unknown Hoffa and his tiny Detroit local move into the big time. It is a fascinating story.

As the reader travels this sometimes-bumpy road he or she will gain several insights into the current state of American Labor. Hoffa gained the unswerving loyalty of his members by providing them with what they cared about. They wanted higher wages, shorter hours, and better benefits and Hoffa delivered. In contrast to Hoffa, after WWII many Union leaders adopted a corporatist outlook. Many Labor leaders had held this view before the war but it became dominant during the conflict. Their view was that Labor should give up many of it's best tools in order to become an equal partner in the decision making process of government. Russell never uses the term but their views were basically fascist in nature. Not Hitler's version, but true fascism which has never been practiced anywhere but went through a time of great popularity among intellectuals. The power given up by these corporatists still handicaps Labor to this day. Hoffa refused to surrender any tool he had at his disposal and fell out of favor with the rest of Labor.

Russell also covers Hoffa's relationship with the crime world. It appears that while Hoffa did indeed profit by some of his connections, his main reason for reaching out to the Mob in the first place was to gain needed muscle. Had that muscle been used exclusively against goons hired by management it would have been somewhat excusable. Many times however, that brute force was used against other unions. The odd thing is that after his release from prison Hoffa was seen by these underworld figures as a threat to their position in the IBT and that seems to have caused his disappearance. One wonders what would have happened if Hoffa had regained control of the Teamsters.

For someone who has studied the labor movement or a novice in this subject matter, this is a very good book. It is very well written and informative. Russell sheds new light on Hoffa and the IBT and does so in a very clear and easy to read manner. This story is sometimes very complicated but the author has done a remarkable job of explaining the whole story. This book is a welcome addition to the study of American Labor.

This book upsets the pieties of the left without serving the agenda of the right. No wonder some reviewers have accused Russell of pardoning Hoffa post-humously, while others have accused him of undue vilification. They're confused, because Out of the Jungle is not warped by the ideological orthodoxies that have made so many other books of labor history so boring, predictable, sanctimonious and sometimes even dishonest. Out of the Jungle is a breakthrough, a meticulous, clear-headed analysis of what made Hoffa an effective leader. One can only hope more labor historians will follow Russell's lead in the future