A NEW LABOR MOVEMENT
FOR THE NEW CENTURY
edited
by Gregory Mantsios
Afterword by John J. Sweeney
"This spirited
collection is indispensable reading for anyone who wants to know what it will
take for unions to inspire and mobilize a mass movement that will transform our
nation, deepen our commitment to justice and democracy, and promote the
inclusiveness that is key both to the labor movement and sustained economic
growth."
— Rev. JESSE L. JACKSON,
Sr., President, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
"Labor has finally awakened from a long, deep sleep." So declared
one observer after the victory of John J. Sweeney's "New Voice" slate
in the 1995 contest for leadership of the U.S. trade union federation, the
AFL-CIO. Sweeney's team promised to make organizing its top priority, and new
stirrings in labor have brought unprecedented media attention. With a
surprisingly popular and victorious nationwide strike at United Parcel Service
in 1997, hopes have risen for a new labor movement.
But have unions broken sufficiently from the policies and practices of the
past to reverse their long decline in membership? How is labor responding to a
workforce increasingly made up of women and people of color? What are the best
tactics for organizing and mobilizing? What political alliances and
international policies should labor pursue?
This collection charts the possibilities for a more vibrant, inclusive, and
democratic labor movement. Participants include union leaders and rank-and-file
activists, representing a wide variety of industrial, clerical, and service
employees; scholars, teachers, and intellectuals; and both labor radicals and
labor moderates.
The result is a dialogue of exceptional range and depth. In an afterword,
AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney replies to the assembled essays, relating the
themes and criticisms found in them to his own vision for a revived labor
movement.
Contents & Contributors
Foreword
by DAN GEORGAKAS
Introduction
by GREGORY MANTSIOS
Part I: Democracy, Ideology, and Change
Creating Democratic Communities in the Workplace
by ELAINE BERNARD
Whose Democracy? Organized Labor and Member
Control
by BILL FLETCHER, JR.
A "New Labor Movement" or the Shell of the
Old?
by JEREMY BRECHER and TIM COSTELLO
What Does Labor Stand For?
by GREGORY MANTSIOS
Part 2: Organizing the Unorganized
Taking the Offensive, Turning the Tide
by STEPHEN LERNER
Membership-Based Organizing
by STEVE EARLY
Successful Organizing at the Local Level:
The Experience of AFSCME District Council 1707
by JOSEPHINE LEBEAU and KEVIN LYNCH
Moving Innovation from the Margins to the Center
by JANICE FINE
Part 3: Diversity and Inclusion
Women Workers:
Strategies for Inclusion and Rebuilding Unionism
by RUTH NEEDLEMAN
Getting Serious About Inclusion
by JOSÉ LA LUZ and PAULA FINN
The Challenge of Diversity and Inclusion in the
AFL-CIO
by MAY CHEN and KENT WONG
Transforming Unions and Building a Movement
by LARRY ADAMS
Part 4: Parties and Politics
Blocking Bridges:
Class-Based Politics and the Labor Movement
by PATRICIA LIPPOLD and BOB KIRKMAN
Labor's Role in the Political Arena
by DENNIS RIVERA
Building a Party of Our Own
by TONY MAZZOCCHI
The Politics of Leadership:
The Role of Unions in Developing Policy Initiatives
by ARTHUR CHELIOTES
Part 5: International Affairs
Developing and Enforcing International Labor
Standards
by BARBARA SHAILOR and GEORGE KOURPIAS
New Voice, New Internationalism
by ANDY BANKS
International Labor Solidarity in an Era of Global
Competition
by HECTOR J. FIGUEROA
Building a Member-Based International Program
by RON BLACKWELL
Afterword
by JOHN J. SWEENEY
About the Editor
GREGORY MANTSIOS is director
of worker education at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY).
If you have any technical comments or suggestions, about
this web site, please send e-mail to Our Webmaster at mrwebmaster@monthlyreview.org.
 |
