Labor Rising: The Past and Future of Working People in America

by Daniel Katz (Editor), Richard A. Greenwald (Editor), Marcellus Andrews (Contributor)

When Wisconsin governor Scott Walker threatened the collective bargaining rights of the state’s public sector employees in early 2011, the massive protests that erupted in response put the labor movement back on the nation’s front pages. It was a fleeting reminder of a not-so-distant past when the “labor question”—and the power of organized labor—was part and parcel of a century-long struggle for justice and equality in America.

Now, on the heels of the expansive Occupy Wall Street movement and midterm election outcomes that are encouraging for the labor movement, the lessons of history are a vital handhold for the thousands of activists and citizens everywhere who sense that something has gone terribly wrong. This pithy and accessible volume provides readers with an understanding of the history that is directly relevant to the economic and political crises working people face today, and points the way to a revitalized twenty-first-century labor movement. With original contributions from leading labor historians, social critics, and activists, Labor Rising makes crucial connections between the past and present, and then looks forward, asking how we might imagine a different future for all Americans.

Genres: Labor, Politics, History, Nonfiction, American, American History, Economics

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

Daniel Katz is provost, professor of history, and dean of labor studies at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland. A former union organizer, he sits on the boards of the New York State Labor History Association and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. He is a co-editor, with Richard A. Greenwald, of Labor Rising: The Past and Future of Working People in America (The New Press) and the author of All Together Different: Yiddish Socialists, Garment Workers, and the Labor Roots of Multiculturalism. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to discuss the ideas in this book for hours. Having said that, I will just write a few words and leave it at that.

I have belonged to two labor unions in my working life, but I currently work for a non-union international employer. I worked as a volunteer union organizer with the Teamsters for three years, trying to install unions out at work. This was an experience of a lifetime, but I was amazed at how readily our American government sold us down the river. The really sad thing is that I know we would have been successful, had our legislation just emerged from the Senate with our language in the FAA Reauthorization act. I was on the conference calls, I knew the score, and I saw first hand just how overwhelmingly the odds are stacked against labor in America.

I am no labor expert, but I agree with most of the ideas presented in this book. I was thoroughly involved with learning more about the history of, and the current state of, the World wide labor movement. I agree that the future will probably belong to those being hurt the most at this time. I am referring to the young in America, the immigrants from around the World, and the downtrodden workers across the World.

The book gives hope, and I pray with all my heart that the hard won gains of the twentieth century are not lost for decades to come. It will take an International effort, and we had all better learn to support one another. A World that sinks further back into the days with a few powerful and wealthy people ruling the masses, is simply not an option. People will remember the past, and they will demand their share of this World's blessings.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a very informative book. I'm disappointed in the lack of a detailed bibliography or "Additional Reading" section. Some essays seemed very dry and academic, but overall a very good read.

[Kim Siever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty dry and academic, but it is informative.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm all for unions for the most part and am not necessarily a conservative I suppose but this book had both good things in my opinion and alot of things that were not to my liking not the most interesting read unless your interested in politics particularly unions and occupy and even then its meh