The Bosses' Union

The Bosses' Union

Author: Vilja Hulden

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2023-01-13

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0252053885

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At the opening of the twentieth century, labor strife repeatedly racked the nation. Union organization and collective bargaining briefly looked like a promising avenue to stability. But both employers and many middle-class observers remained wary of unions exercising independent power. Vilja Hulden reveals how this tension provided the opening for pro-business organizations to shift public attention from concerns about inequality and dangerous working conditions to a belief that unions trampled on an individual's right to work. Inventing the term closed shop, employers mounted what they called an open-shop campaign to undermine union demands that workers at unionized workplaces join the union. Employer organizations lobbied Congress to resist labor's proposals as tyrannical, brought court cases to taint labor's tactics as illegal, and influenced newspaper coverage of unions. While employers were not a monolith nor all-powerful, they generally agreed that unions were a nuisance. Employers successfully leveraged money and connections to create perceptions of organized labor that still echo in our discussions of worker rights.


Book Synopsis The Bosses' Union by : Vilja Hulden

Download or read book The Bosses' Union written by Vilja Hulden and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2023-01-13 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the opening of the twentieth century, labor strife repeatedly racked the nation. Union organization and collective bargaining briefly looked like a promising avenue to stability. But both employers and many middle-class observers remained wary of unions exercising independent power. Vilja Hulden reveals how this tension provided the opening for pro-business organizations to shift public attention from concerns about inequality and dangerous working conditions to a belief that unions trampled on an individual's right to work. Inventing the term closed shop, employers mounted what they called an open-shop campaign to undermine union demands that workers at unionized workplaces join the union. Employer organizations lobbied Congress to resist labor's proposals as tyrannical, brought court cases to taint labor's tactics as illegal, and influenced newspaper coverage of unions. While employers were not a monolith nor all-powerful, they generally agreed that unions were a nuisance. Employers successfully leveraged money and connections to create perceptions of organized labor that still echo in our discussions of worker rights.

Tell the Bosses We're Coming

Tell the Bosses We're Coming

Author: Shaun Richman

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2020-05-22

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1583678581

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Lengthening hours, lessening pay, no parental leave, scant job security... Never have so many workers needed so much support. Yet the very labor unions that could garner us protections and help us speak up for ourselves are growing weaker every day. In an age of rampant inequality, of increasing social protest and strikes – and when a majority of workers say they want to be union members – why does union density continue to decline? Shaun Richman offers some answers in his book, Tell the Bosses We're Coming. It’s time to bring unions back from the edge of institutional annihilation, says Richman. But that is no simple proposition. Richman explains how important it is that this book is published now, because the next few years offer a rare opportunity to undo the great damage wrought on labor by decades of corporate union-busting, if only union activists raise our ambitions. Based on deft historical research and legal analysis, as well as his own experience as a union organizing director, Richman lays out an action plan for U.S. workers in the twenty-first century by which we can internalize the concept that workers are equal human beings, entitled to health care, dignity, job security – and definitely, the right to strike. Unafraid to take on some of the labor movement’s sacred cows, this book describes what it would take – some changes that are within activists’ power and some that require meaningful legal reform – to put unions in workplaces across America. As Shaun Richman says, “I look forward to working with you.”


Book Synopsis Tell the Bosses We're Coming by : Shaun Richman

Download or read book Tell the Bosses We're Coming written by Shaun Richman and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2020-05-22 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lengthening hours, lessening pay, no parental leave, scant job security... Never have so many workers needed so much support. Yet the very labor unions that could garner us protections and help us speak up for ourselves are growing weaker every day. In an age of rampant inequality, of increasing social protest and strikes – and when a majority of workers say they want to be union members – why does union density continue to decline? Shaun Richman offers some answers in his book, Tell the Bosses We're Coming. It’s time to bring unions back from the edge of institutional annihilation, says Richman. But that is no simple proposition. Richman explains how important it is that this book is published now, because the next few years offer a rare opportunity to undo the great damage wrought on labor by decades of corporate union-busting, if only union activists raise our ambitions. Based on deft historical research and legal analysis, as well as his own experience as a union organizing director, Richman lays out an action plan for U.S. workers in the twenty-first century by which we can internalize the concept that workers are equal human beings, entitled to health care, dignity, job security – and definitely, the right to strike. Unafraid to take on some of the labor movement’s sacred cows, this book describes what it would take – some changes that are within activists’ power and some that require meaningful legal reform – to put unions in workplaces across America. As Shaun Richman says, “I look forward to working with you.”

Unite and Fight

Unite and Fight

Author: Eve Livingston

Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 9780745341620

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Think your union doesn't represent you? Then maybe it's time to change it.


Book Synopsis Unite and Fight by : Eve Livingston

Download or read book Unite and Fight written by Eve Livingston and published by Pluto Press (UK). This book was released on 2021-09-20 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Think your union doesn't represent you? Then maybe it's time to change it.

Tell the Bosses We're Coming

Tell the Bosses We're Coming

Author: Shaun Richman

Publisher: Monthly Review Press

Published: 2020-05-22

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1583678565

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How labor union organizing can help leverage today's movements, and why workers need unions more than ever before Lengthening hours, lessening pay, no parental leave, scant job security... Never have so many workers needed so much support. Yet the very labor unions that could garner us protections and help us speak up for ourselves are growing weaker every day. In an age of rampant inequality, of increasing social protest and strikes – and when a majority of workers say they want to be union members – why does union density continue to decline? Shaun Richman offers some answers in his book, Tell the Bosses We're Coming. It’s time to bring unions back from the edge of institutional annihilation, says Richman. But that is no simple proposition. Richman explains how important it is that this book is published now, because the next few years offer a rare opportunity to undo the great damage wrought on labor by decades of corporate union-busting, if only union activists raise our ambitions. Based on deft historical research and legal analysis, as well as his own experience as a union organizing director, Richman lays out an action plan for U.S. workers in the twenty-first century by which we can internalize the concept that workers are equal human beings, entitled to health care, dignity, job security – and definitely, the right to strike. Unafraid to take on some of the labor movement’s sacred cows, this book describes what it would take – some changes that are within activists’ power and some that require meaningful legal reform – to put unions in workplaces across America. As Shaun Richman says, “I look forward to working with you.”


Book Synopsis Tell the Bosses We're Coming by : Shaun Richman

Download or read book Tell the Bosses We're Coming written by Shaun Richman and published by Monthly Review Press. This book was released on 2020-05-22 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How labor union organizing can help leverage today's movements, and why workers need unions more than ever before Lengthening hours, lessening pay, no parental leave, scant job security... Never have so many workers needed so much support. Yet the very labor unions that could garner us protections and help us speak up for ourselves are growing weaker every day. In an age of rampant inequality, of increasing social protest and strikes – and when a majority of workers say they want to be union members – why does union density continue to decline? Shaun Richman offers some answers in his book, Tell the Bosses We're Coming. It’s time to bring unions back from the edge of institutional annihilation, says Richman. But that is no simple proposition. Richman explains how important it is that this book is published now, because the next few years offer a rare opportunity to undo the great damage wrought on labor by decades of corporate union-busting, if only union activists raise our ambitions. Based on deft historical research and legal analysis, as well as his own experience as a union organizing director, Richman lays out an action plan for U.S. workers in the twenty-first century by which we can internalize the concept that workers are equal human beings, entitled to health care, dignity, job security – and definitely, the right to strike. Unafraid to take on some of the labor movement’s sacred cows, this book describes what it would take – some changes that are within activists’ power and some that require meaningful legal reform – to put unions in workplaces across America. As Shaun Richman says, “I look forward to working with you.”

Betrayal

Betrayal

Author: Linda Chavez

Publisher: Crown Forum

Published: 2004-06-08

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1400081165

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“Simply put, the leftist labor unions have the Democrats in their pockets. And we’re all paying the price.” Linda Chavez, President George W. Bush’s original choice for Secretary of Labor and a former union official, is one of the foremost authorities on America’s labor unions. Now, in the explosive new book Betrayal, she and fellow union expert Daniel Gray expose the corrupt bargain between the labor movement and the Democratic Party. Committed to a far-left political agenda—and to enhancing their own power—union bosses funnel at least half a billion dollars into Democratic coffers every year. And they do it, illegally, by using dues money that workers are forced to pay as a condition of their employment—dues money that each year brings the unions $17 billion, all of it tax-free. What do labor bosses get in return? The power to call the shots in Democratic campaigns and on party policy, extraordinary influence at all levels of government, billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded federal grants, and special legal privileges that leave them free to act as they please, no matter the consequences for the American people. The cycle of corruption is seemingly endless. Chavez and Gray name names, exposing the many politicians who are in Big Labor’s pocket—including the leading lights of the Democratic Party. Betrayal also reveals: • Big Labor’s all-out efforts in the 2004 election, including how just one local union has launched a $35-million campaign to unseat President Bush • How corrupt union officials use members’ hard-earned money to fund lavish lifestyles—and how their Democratic supporters let them get away with it • How unions flout the law by failing to report any of their political spending to the IRS • How a government report uncovered the Democrats’ sellout to Big Labor—but how the unions and the Democrats sued to keep the report from going public • How the U.S. government lets unions practice legalized terrorism against American citizens • How public-employee unions extort concessions from the government and put Americans at risk by refusing to provide vital services like policing and firefighting • How Americans now live under a system of legal apartheid—one set of rules for labor bosses, another for the rest of us All of us foot the bill for this corrupt system. Now it’s up to us to do something about it.


Book Synopsis Betrayal by : Linda Chavez

Download or read book Betrayal written by Linda Chavez and published by Crown Forum. This book was released on 2004-06-08 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Simply put, the leftist labor unions have the Democrats in their pockets. And we’re all paying the price.” Linda Chavez, President George W. Bush’s original choice for Secretary of Labor and a former union official, is one of the foremost authorities on America’s labor unions. Now, in the explosive new book Betrayal, she and fellow union expert Daniel Gray expose the corrupt bargain between the labor movement and the Democratic Party. Committed to a far-left political agenda—and to enhancing their own power—union bosses funnel at least half a billion dollars into Democratic coffers every year. And they do it, illegally, by using dues money that workers are forced to pay as a condition of their employment—dues money that each year brings the unions $17 billion, all of it tax-free. What do labor bosses get in return? The power to call the shots in Democratic campaigns and on party policy, extraordinary influence at all levels of government, billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded federal grants, and special legal privileges that leave them free to act as they please, no matter the consequences for the American people. The cycle of corruption is seemingly endless. Chavez and Gray name names, exposing the many politicians who are in Big Labor’s pocket—including the leading lights of the Democratic Party. Betrayal also reveals: • Big Labor’s all-out efforts in the 2004 election, including how just one local union has launched a $35-million campaign to unseat President Bush • How corrupt union officials use members’ hard-earned money to fund lavish lifestyles—and how their Democratic supporters let them get away with it • How unions flout the law by failing to report any of their political spending to the IRS • How a government report uncovered the Democrats’ sellout to Big Labor—but how the unions and the Democrats sued to keep the report from going public • How the U.S. government lets unions practice legalized terrorism against American citizens • How public-employee unions extort concessions from the government and put Americans at risk by refusing to provide vital services like policing and firefighting • How Americans now live under a system of legal apartheid—one set of rules for labor bosses, another for the rest of us All of us foot the bill for this corrupt system. Now it’s up to us to do something about it.

The Jewish Unions in America

The Jewish Unions in America

Author: Bernard Weinstein

Publisher: Open Book Publishers

Published: 2018-02-06

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 1783743565

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Newly arrived in New York in 1882 from Tsarist Russia, the sixteen-year-old Bernard Weinstein discovered an America in which unionism, socialism, and anarchism were very much in the air. He found a home in the tenements of New York and for the next fifty years he devoted his life to the struggles of fellow Jewish workers. The Jewish Unions in America blends memoir and history to chronicle this time. It describes how Weinstein led countless strikes, held the unions together in the face of retaliation from the bosses, investigated sweatshops and factories with the aid of reformers, and faced down schisms by various factions, including Anarchists and Communists. He co-founded the United Hebrew Trades and wrote speeches, articles and books advancing the cause of the labor movement. From the pages of this book emerges a vivid picture of workers’ organizations at the beginning of the twentieth century and a capitalist system that bred exploitation, poverty, and inequality. Although workers’ rights have made great progress in the decades since, Weinstein’s descriptions of workers with jobs pitted against those without, and American workers against workers abroad, still carry echoes today. The Jewish Unions in America is a testament to the struggles of working people a hundred years ago. But it is also a reminder that workers must still battle to live decent lives in the free market. For the first time, Maurice Wolfthal’s readable translation makes Weinstein’s Yiddish text available to English readers. It is essential reading for students and scholars of labor history, Jewish history, and the history of American immigration.


Book Synopsis The Jewish Unions in America by : Bernard Weinstein

Download or read book The Jewish Unions in America written by Bernard Weinstein and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newly arrived in New York in 1882 from Tsarist Russia, the sixteen-year-old Bernard Weinstein discovered an America in which unionism, socialism, and anarchism were very much in the air. He found a home in the tenements of New York and for the next fifty years he devoted his life to the struggles of fellow Jewish workers. The Jewish Unions in America blends memoir and history to chronicle this time. It describes how Weinstein led countless strikes, held the unions together in the face of retaliation from the bosses, investigated sweatshops and factories with the aid of reformers, and faced down schisms by various factions, including Anarchists and Communists. He co-founded the United Hebrew Trades and wrote speeches, articles and books advancing the cause of the labor movement. From the pages of this book emerges a vivid picture of workers’ organizations at the beginning of the twentieth century and a capitalist system that bred exploitation, poverty, and inequality. Although workers’ rights have made great progress in the decades since, Weinstein’s descriptions of workers with jobs pitted against those without, and American workers against workers abroad, still carry echoes today. The Jewish Unions in America is a testament to the struggles of working people a hundred years ago. But it is also a reminder that workers must still battle to live decent lives in the free market. For the first time, Maurice Wolfthal’s readable translation makes Weinstein’s Yiddish text available to English readers. It is essential reading for students and scholars of labor history, Jewish history, and the history of American immigration.

Make Bosses Pay

Make Bosses Pay

Author: Eve Livingston

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781786808417

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Think your union doesn't represent you? Then maybe it's time to change it.


Book Synopsis Make Bosses Pay by : Eve Livingston

Download or read book Make Bosses Pay written by Eve Livingston and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Think your union doesn't represent you? Then maybe it's time to change it.

Class Struggle Unionism

Class Struggle Unionism

Author: Joe Burns

Publisher: Haymarket Books

Published: 2022-03-01

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1642596817

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For those who want to build a fighting labor movement, there are many questions to answer. How to relate to the union establishment which often does not want to fight? Whether to work in the rank and file of unions or staff jobs? How much to prioritize broader class demands versus shop floor struggle? How to relate to foundation-funded worker centers and alternative union efforts? And most critically, how can we revive militancy and union power in the face of corporate power and a legal system set up against us? Class struggle unionism is the belief that our union struggle exists within a larger struggle between an exploiting billionaire class and the working class which actually produces the goods and services in society. Class struggle unionism looks at the employment transaction as inherently exploitative. While workers create all wealth in society, the outcome of the wage employment transaction is to separate workers from that wealth and create the billionaire class. From that simple proposition flows a powerful and radical form of unionism. Historically, class struggle unionists placed their workplace fights squarely within this larger fight between workers and the owning class. Viewing unionism in this way produces a particular type of unionism which both fights for broader class issues but is also rooted in workplace-based militancy. Drawing on years of labor activism and study of labor tradition Joe Burns outlines the key set of ideas common to class struggle unionism and shows how these ideas can create a more militant, democtractic and fighting labor movement.


Book Synopsis Class Struggle Unionism by : Joe Burns

Download or read book Class Struggle Unionism written by Joe Burns and published by Haymarket Books. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For those who want to build a fighting labor movement, there are many questions to answer. How to relate to the union establishment which often does not want to fight? Whether to work in the rank and file of unions or staff jobs? How much to prioritize broader class demands versus shop floor struggle? How to relate to foundation-funded worker centers and alternative union efforts? And most critically, how can we revive militancy and union power in the face of corporate power and a legal system set up against us? Class struggle unionism is the belief that our union struggle exists within a larger struggle between an exploiting billionaire class and the working class which actually produces the goods and services in society. Class struggle unionism looks at the employment transaction as inherently exploitative. While workers create all wealth in society, the outcome of the wage employment transaction is to separate workers from that wealth and create the billionaire class. From that simple proposition flows a powerful and radical form of unionism. Historically, class struggle unionists placed their workplace fights squarely within this larger fight between workers and the owning class. Viewing unionism in this way produces a particular type of unionism which both fights for broader class issues but is also rooted in workplace-based militancy. Drawing on years of labor activism and study of labor tradition Joe Burns outlines the key set of ideas common to class struggle unionism and shows how these ideas can create a more militant, democtractic and fighting labor movement.

Union Made

Union Made

Author: Norman H. Finkelstein

Publisher: Astra Publishing House

Published: 2019-06-11

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 1629796387

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Unsung hero Samuel Gompers worked tirelessly to ensure that no American worker would go unheard or overlooked, dedicating his life to fighting for their rights. This comprehensive middle-grade biography provides an in-depth look at Gompers, the founding father of the American Federation of Labor. Born in England, Samuel Gompers grew up watching his father roll cigars, and at 10 years old, started rolling them himself. After immigrating to the United States, Gompers soon discovered his vocation to fight for the American laborer in his personal work experience. His charismatic, outspoken personality soon landed him the role of speaking on behalf of his fellow workers. His participation in various unsuccessful unions and other failed ventures to enact labor changes led to his creation of the American Federation of Labor. Faced with strikes that turned violent, opposition from the government, and lies perpetrated by anti-unionizers, Gompers persevered, and lived to see various measures enacted to ensure safe work environments, workers' compensation, and other basic laborer rights.


Book Synopsis Union Made by : Norman H. Finkelstein

Download or read book Union Made written by Norman H. Finkelstein and published by Astra Publishing House. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unsung hero Samuel Gompers worked tirelessly to ensure that no American worker would go unheard or overlooked, dedicating his life to fighting for their rights. This comprehensive middle-grade biography provides an in-depth look at Gompers, the founding father of the American Federation of Labor. Born in England, Samuel Gompers grew up watching his father roll cigars, and at 10 years old, started rolling them himself. After immigrating to the United States, Gompers soon discovered his vocation to fight for the American laborer in his personal work experience. His charismatic, outspoken personality soon landed him the role of speaking on behalf of his fellow workers. His participation in various unsuccessful unions and other failed ventures to enact labor changes led to his creation of the American Federation of Labor. Faced with strikes that turned violent, opposition from the government, and lies perpetrated by anti-unionizers, Gompers persevered, and lived to see various measures enacted to ensure safe work environments, workers' compensation, and other basic laborer rights.

Re-Union

Re-Union

Author: David Madland

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2021-05-15

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1501755382

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In Re-Union, David Madland explores how labor unions are essential to all workers. Yet, union systems are badly flawed and in need of rapid changes for reform. Madland's multilayered analysis presents a solution—a model to replace the existing firm-based collective bargaining with a larger, industry-scale bargaining method coupled with powerful incentives for union membership. These changes would represent a remarkable shift from the norm, but would be based on lessons from other countries, US history and current policy in several cities and states. In outlining the shift, Madland details how these proposals might mend the broken economic and political systems in the United States. He also uses three examples from Britain, Canada, and Australia to explore what there is yet to learn about this new system in other developed nations. Madland's practical advice in Re-Union extends to a proposal for how to implement the changes necessary to shift the current paradigm. This powerful call to action speaks directly to the workers affected by these policies—the very people seeking to have their voices recognized in a system that attempts to silence them.


Book Synopsis Re-Union by : David Madland

Download or read book Re-Union written by David Madland and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-15 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Re-Union, David Madland explores how labor unions are essential to all workers. Yet, union systems are badly flawed and in need of rapid changes for reform. Madland's multilayered analysis presents a solution—a model to replace the existing firm-based collective bargaining with a larger, industry-scale bargaining method coupled with powerful incentives for union membership. These changes would represent a remarkable shift from the norm, but would be based on lessons from other countries, US history and current policy in several cities and states. In outlining the shift, Madland details how these proposals might mend the broken economic and political systems in the United States. He also uses three examples from Britain, Canada, and Australia to explore what there is yet to learn about this new system in other developed nations. Madland's practical advice in Re-Union extends to a proposal for how to implement the changes necessary to shift the current paradigm. This powerful call to action speaks directly to the workers affected by these policies—the very people seeking to have their voices recognized in a system that attempts to silence them.