Economic-union Books

Finally a book that ask's workers what they want, rather than some pontification of a organizational theory or anecdotal information by a Ivory Tower Guru. The authors used a multi-part survey that ask workers about what they wanted - participation in the organizations is what the workers seeked. Workers voiced their opinion in that they believe that greater participation in their jobs and organizations would both benefit the organization and the employee. The authors, Richard Freeman, Ascherman Professor of Economics at Harvard and Joel Rogers MacArthur Professor of Law, Political Science, and Sociology at the Univesity of Wisconsin believe representation and participation of the workers at their jobs would benefit both the employee and employer, who would gain a more engaged and committed workforce. A interesting section in the book covers, "Why Care about What Workers Want? The authors answer these questions with some thoughtful discussion. Compelling and honest! I thoroughly recommend it to Executives, Administrators, Managers and Human Resources professionals! I

Priscilla Long's WHERE THE SUN NEVER SHINES: A HISTORY OF AMERICA'S BLOODY COAL INDUSTRY brings the history of coal mining in this country to vivid life. Long examines both the grim subsistence laced with tragedy which formed coal miners' lives and their visceral struggle toward light and air via labor reform. She shines a particularly clear light on the crucial part the miners' wives played in the struggle for just treatment, and underscores the important, almost mystical role that Mother Jones played in the events recounted. An important treatment of a seldom-recalled chapter in America's history, this highly readable book combines a scholar's research and specificity with a poet's clarity and turn of phrase. Highly recommended.

My family lived in Harlan, Kentucky on and off between 1920 and 1934. After my parents and my brother left Kentucky and I was born, they continued to tell stories about life in Harlan, the conflicts between the miners and the mine operators, efforts in public health and education, the role of the church, and so on. One particular story described the 1935 death of Elmon Middleton from dynamite attached to the starter of his car. My dad told this story so vividly that I could never forget it. So I decided to read about the setting, the times, and to look for documentation of this event, in preparation for writing a biography of my dad. Which Side Are You On? presents a comprehensive and detailed history of those times in that place. The author offers thorough documentation of the controversies and scholarly descriptions of social and economic conditions. For example, he explains the realities of transportation costs on the price of coal, along with the primitive nature of roads, bridges, and railroads in Eastern Kentucky; the need to stay competitive in pricing on the part of the companies; the inborn (Scots Irish?) reluctance of the miners to organize into unions; the racism and poverty endemic in the miners' camps; the habits of violence, in evidence long before the various efforts to unionize; and the lack of state-funded social and health services, as well as very poor public funding for roads and bridges.

There are surely many better known memoirs of Soviet life. And certainly some of them may be more informative or better literature or more detailed or provide more insight into certain areas of Soviet life. However, this little book provides a glimpse into the personal tragedy of collectivization, war and tyranny in the Stalin era.

If we have forgotten that the horror seen in North Korea was also seen in Russia after collectivization, you will be reminded by shocking passages in this memoir, written shortly after arrival in America. If we have forgotten that, although so littered with deaths that they were treated commonly and with little ceremony, a soldier's life was better than his civilian family's, we will be reminded by the soldier in this story. If there are any left who mourn for the days of communism or imagine that Stalin was building a beautiful society, they should read this little book.

You can also find personal stories, love, pain, alcoholism and yearning for freedom - and finally escape. And the self-destructive yearning to return to tyranny by an alcoholic old Soviet friend.

Very readable and an enjoyable resource for those interested in the history of this period.

I needed concrete information on dealing with labor union issues. This was the book for me!

Every Amazon.com employee should read it.

Kim Moody's "Workers in a Lean World" is a scholarly but highly readable critique of the contemporary labor movement and its struggle with capital. The author discusses numerous instances from around the world where employees have resisted management to support his contention that today's workers movement remains a potent historical force. In fact, the author points to new forms of worker organization to posit that the working class may be closer to throwing off the mantle of capitalist rule than one might suspect.

Mr. Moody is a labor researcher and activist who displays a great deal of knowledge and passion for the subject. He is the director of 'Labor Notes', an organization that publishes and sponsors conferences for labor leaders. The book benefits from the author's solid scholarship and case studies shared by real-life contacts with people who are active in making history today. Rarely is labor's side of the story told as intelligently, persuasively and compellingly as it is here.

Mr. Moody presents an unique analysis of postmodern industrialization. Like others, he points to the crisis of accumulation in the mid-1970s as a catalyst for change. Lean production utilizes information technology, cross-border production chains, and deskilled labor in an attempt to restore corporate profitability. But at this point, the author departs from most other analysts in a number of ways.

Mr. Moody challenges postmodern theorists by demonstrating that material production remains at the heart of capitalism. Citing a wealth of statistics, the author explains that the Fordist model remains vital and Taylorism is integral to the success of lean production. We are reminded of the age-old reality that labor's gain is management's loss; but while acknowledging that many jobs have been recently transferred overseas to low-wage countries, the author contends that it is not as easy for companies to relocate production as one might think. In fact, most job losses in recent years have been attributable to the implementation of computer technology. Rather, corporate PR and the threat of relocation is most often used by management to wring concessions from a largely insecure workforce that has become disoriented in the face of these rapid changes.

One particular powerful aspect of Mr. Moody's analysis pertained to his blistering critique of Human Resources Management (HRM), a "propagandistic" ideology full of "hype about worker autonomy and empowerment" (pg. 89). HRM has been successfully used by many companies to create a more easily exploitable workforce. In general, HRM coerces workers to share information with management, which all too often leads to speed-up and job loading at individual factories. Such knowlege then quickly spreads throughout the industry as examples of these so-called "best practices" are shared in management circles. But the underpaid, deskilled and overstressed workforce that ultimately results from an HRM project exposes the inherently lopsided nature of the labor/management relationship.

Mr. Moody compares and contrasts the union movement in the industrialized North with the newly-industrialized South. The author finds that many unions in the North (the U.S., Europe and Japan) have been coopted by management and consequently have lost much of their effectiveness. In contrast, the author highlights the successes of some of the more dynamic unions in the South (Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere) to contend that a form of social-movement unionism that combines political and economic goals may help secure a better future for the working class as a whole. Importantly, the author believes that the same cross-border production chains that enable globalization to flourish must be used by unions in the North and the South to share ideas, coordinate actions and achieve shared goals. While one may not be as optimistic as the author that such a coordinated worker campaign might gain the upper hand anytime soon, the strength of the author's work is such that one can clearly see the contours of the movement beginning to form and imagine that its eventual success may certainly be within the realm of possibility.

In short, "Workers in a Lean World" is a thoughtful book that is full of insight, sophisticated analysis and forward-thinking ideas about creating a more just and egalitarian society. Highly recommended.

If you got to this review, buy this book. There are a few problems. Nelson could have spent more research taking the longshoremen's perspective into account. Nonetheless, his research is solid and this is a must for those interested in the Great Depression, San Francisco or labor history. Nelson account is the most complete research on the subject during this era. I only wish he had devoted more time to the East Coast.

This book is the best that I have read on the origins of apartheid in South Africa. It is a carefully-written and quite lucid explanation of the politics and unionism of black and white workers during World War II. Alexander illustrates how the degree and kinds of racial unity among South African workers during this period have been drasticaly underestimated by historians, but his analysis of the complex phenomena of working-class racism is full and nuanced. He has done an amazing amount of research into the political economy of the South African state at a number of different levels, and smoothly integrated this with a subtle and interesting social history of workers. This book serves as an excellent example of this kind of analysis for US historians of labor.

O'Brien has written a well researched work that brings a new perspective to a familiar chapter in labor history. Her findings suggest that a paradox exists within the foundation of labor policy and the development of liberalism in this country, and that the principles of labor history associated with the National Relations Act of 1935 actually emerged over a decade earlier in the 1920s. This is a well written book that should be included in the library of anyone interested in labor history and the politics of the 1920s and 1930s.