The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor: Birth of a New Workers' Movement or Death Throes of the Old?

by Steve Early

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.

Genres: Labor, Nonfiction, History

440 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jody Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful read on the failings of labor liberalism. The social media and ad campaigns can only do so much to put a good face on the skeleton of a movement that the SEIU approach engenders. The focus on image, a college-educated staff army, close collaboration with corporations, even closer collaboration with the democratic party, and a complete lack of any democratic structure or rank and file involvement is a formula for temporary flashy wins, but long term failure and exposure.

Unfortunately like so many others the author felt the need to work an attack on the USSR into the end of the book, and he certainly doesn't seem to come at this from anything more than a progressive liberal perspective. Aside from that a useful text.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reason(s) to be mad at Obama 🙃

[Rohit · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice plump volume on the details of various rounds of infighting among progressive unions in the US, mainly focusing on SEIU but also touching on issues and politics within AFSCME, UNITE HERE, CWA, NUHW, and CNA. There is a LOT of juicy inside-baseball details in here about the various shennanigans that SEIU, the main character and antagonist of the book, pulled in the late 2010s, ranging from their attacks on their own locals and members, to corruption cases, to their political lobbying efforts. The foil to SEIU is CWA (who the author worked for for many years), and NUHW, both of whom the author argues are good examples of exercising at least some level of union democracy and rank-and-file member empowerment.

The book is packed with information, however the overall structure is somewhat bizarre and can be difficult to follow sometimes, with a lot of bouncing back and forth in time, and jumping between events and campaigns in a somewhat peculiar fashion. There are also a lot of details around names and laws and policies that can be a little daunting if one is not already somewhat familiar with unions and labor law. This book could be a lot better if it followed more of a narrative structure, followed campaigns from beginning to end rather than chopping up events and bouncing around so much. Nonetheless it was still a very educational and interesting (and horrifying) book.

[Kawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of amazing to read a book written by such an unabashed and thorough hater. Early earns himself a place in the Canon of Haters by dissecting seemingly every mistake (to put it kindly) SEIU made in the late aughts down to the molecular level.

This detailed chronicle of the labor movement's blunders, egoistic self-sabotage, and outright corruption may have made a sufficient enough read for amateurish labor historians. But his clear-eyed understanding of the organizing issues—strategic and ideological—that underlie the struggles he describes render the book as much a history as a useful tool for roadmapping labor's future.

He builds his credibility by being open and honest on his haterism and his own connections/involvement to the episodes described in the book. He steps on his credibility somewhat with his attacks on Jane McAlevey and some others in the movement, who deserved a fairer shake from the author. All in all, this book is unlike any other in its space, and through his abundant hate, readers can find the tough love Early is giving the labor movement.

[mark t · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came for the drama, stayed for the SEIU hit piece

[Dan Petegorsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m generally loathe to delve into either other organizations’ internal business or friends’ messy breakups, because you almost always end up learning very unflattering things and thinking less about people you generally respect or admire. But the scale and consequences of the recent labor wars have been so enormous that it’s at least worth seeing if there’s anything to be learned from them.

On that score, the number one lesson I take away from Early’s book is what an extraordinary waste of money, time, and human capital this was – and at a time when those resources were so desperately needed on other fronts. Early’s strong affinity for one side of the struggle makes this just one of what in a warped way I hope will be a broader analysis/history of these years. That said, it’s a very well written and well documented account, though obviously from a very particular framework (the fight for union democracy). Because of his strong and passionate partisanship it’s not a book that will shift the way people deeply engaged in these fights see them, but for those who were more observers than participants it deserves a place in this sordid history.

[Stas]

Recommended here. Re: Shachtman, Harrington, Piven.