10/30/2017
Hertel-Fernandez, a Columbia professor of international and public affairs, provides an eye-opening and timely look at the increased role of private-sector employers in American politics. He instantly demands attention with examples of employer behavior that is currently legal—for instance, requiring subordinates to volunteer for political campaigns as a condition of employment. There are also less-overt, but nonetheless still coercive, practices, as when paper manufacturer Georgia Pacific distributed a list of candidates it supported in national and local elections accompanied by the warning that their defeat could trigger negative consequences for employees. These examples are supported with chilling details, such as “employer messages... reduce worker support for the minimum wage.” Hertel-Fernandez traces the history of these practices back to the 1896 presidential campaign pitting the probusiness William McKinley against the populist William Jennings Bryan, in which managers told their workers that staying in business hinged on McKinley’s election. He offers cogent legislative reforms to protect workers from political coercion by their bosses, in the hope that these reforms can “remedy one important and growing symptom of the troubled relationship between democracy and corporate capitalism.” Hertel-Fernandez has performed a great public service with this accessible and rigorously documented study. (Mar.)
Employers are increasingly recruiting their workers into politics to change elections and public policy-sometimes in coercive ways. Using a diverse array of evidence, including national surveys of workers and employers, as well as in-depth interviews with top corporate managers, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez's Politics at Work explains why mobilization of workers has become an appealing corporate political strategy in recent decades. The book also assesses the effect of employer mobilization on the political process more broadly, including its consequences for electoral contests, policy debates, and political representation.
Hertel-Fernandez shows that while employer political recruitment has some benefits for American democracy, it also has troubling implications for our democratic system. Workers face considerable pressure to respond to their managers' political requests because of the economic power employers possess over workers. In spite of these worrisome patterns, Hertel-Fernandez found that corporate managers view the mobilization of their own workers as an important strategy for influencing politics. As he shows, companies consider mobilization of their workers to be even more effective at changing public policy than making campaign contributions or buying electoral ads.
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Hertel-Fernandez shows that while employer political recruitment has some benefits for American democracy, it also has troubling implications for our democratic system. Workers face considerable pressure to respond to their managers' political requests because of the economic power employers possess over workers. In spite of these worrisome patterns, Hertel-Fernandez found that corporate managers view the mobilization of their own workers as an important strategy for influencing politics. As he shows, companies consider mobilization of their workers to be even more effective at changing public policy than making campaign contributions or buying electoral ads.
Politics at Work: How Companies Turn Their Workers into Lobbyists
Employers are increasingly recruiting their workers into politics to change elections and public policy-sometimes in coercive ways. Using a diverse array of evidence, including national surveys of workers and employers, as well as in-depth interviews with top corporate managers, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez's Politics at Work explains why mobilization of workers has become an appealing corporate political strategy in recent decades. The book also assesses the effect of employer mobilization on the political process more broadly, including its consequences for electoral contests, policy debates, and political representation.
Hertel-Fernandez shows that while employer political recruitment has some benefits for American democracy, it also has troubling implications for our democratic system. Workers face considerable pressure to respond to their managers' political requests because of the economic power employers possess over workers. In spite of these worrisome patterns, Hertel-Fernandez found that corporate managers view the mobilization of their own workers as an important strategy for influencing politics. As he shows, companies consider mobilization of their workers to be even more effective at changing public policy than making campaign contributions or buying electoral ads.
Hertel-Fernandez shows that while employer political recruitment has some benefits for American democracy, it also has troubling implications for our democratic system. Workers face considerable pressure to respond to their managers' political requests because of the economic power employers possess over workers. In spite of these worrisome patterns, Hertel-Fernandez found that corporate managers view the mobilization of their own workers as an important strategy for influencing politics. As he shows, companies consider mobilization of their workers to be even more effective at changing public policy than making campaign contributions or buying electoral ads.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170749331 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 07/31/2018 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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