Rethinking the American Labor Movement

Rethinking the American Labor Movement
Author: Elizabeth Faue
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2017-04-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1136175512

Rethinking the American Labor Movement tells the story of the various groups and incidents that make up what we think of as the "labor movement." While the efforts of the American labor force towards greater wealth parity have been rife with contention, the struggle has embraced a broad vision of a more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth and a desire for workers to have greater control over their own lives. In this succinct and authoritative volume, Elizabeth Faue reconsiders the varied strains of the labor movement, situating them within the context of rapidly transforming twentieth-century American society to show how these efforts have formed a political and social movement that has shaped the trajectory of American life. Rethinking the American Labor Movement is indispensable reading for scholars and students interested in American labor in the twentieth century and in the interplay between labor, wealth, and power.

Inside the Labor Movement

Inside the Labor Movement
Author: Therese M. Shea
Publisher: Gareth Stevens Publishing LLLP
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2017-12-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1538211645

"It's difficult for many young people to imagine not being able to go to school and instead having to work in a hot, smelly, sometimes dangerous factory for more than 12 hours a day. There was a time in U.S. history when young people had to do just that. Thankfully, many people involved in the labor movement fought against child labor. This was just one of many ways the movement improved rights for working people. This important volume presents a significant slice of American history, using primary sources, first-person narratives, and historical photographs to enlighten readers."

Who Rules America Now?

Who Rules America Now?
Author: G. William Domhoff
Publisher: Touchstone
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1986
Genre: History
ISBN:

The author is convinced that there is a ruling class in America today. He examines the American power structure as it has developed in the 1980s. He presents systematic, empirical evidence that a fixed group of privileged people dominates the American economy and government. The book demonstrates that an upper class comprising only one-half of one percent of the population occupies key positions within the corporate community. It shows how leaders within this "power elite" reach government and dominate it through processes of special-interest lobbying, policy planning and candidate selection. It is written not to promote any political ideology, but to analyze our society with accuracy.

Staley

Staley
Author: Steven K. Ashby
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2009-03-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0252076400

This on-the-ground labor history focuses on the bitterly contested labor conflict in the early 1990s at the A. E. Staley corn processing plant in Decatur, Illinois, where workers waged one of the most hard-fought struggles in recent labor history. Originally family-owned, A. E. Staley was bought out by the multinational conglomerate Tate & Lyle, which immediately launched a full-scale assault on its union workforce. Allied Industrial Workers Local 837 responded by educating and mobilizing its members, organizing strong support from the religious and black communities, building a national and international solidarity movement, and engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience at the plant gates. Drawing on seventy-five interviews, videotapes of every union meeting, and their own active involvement organizing with the Staley workers, Steven K. Ashby and C. J. Hawking bring the workers' voices to the fore and reveal their innovative tactics, such as work-to-rule and solidarity committees, that inform and strengthen today's labor movement.