Rekindling the Movement: Labor's Quest for Relevance in the 21st Century / Edition 1

by Lowell Turner, Harry C. Katz, Richard W. Hurd

Overview

From gloomy times in the 1980s, the American labor movement has returned to apparent prominence through the efforts of a new generation of energetic and progressive leaders.

A distinguished group of authors examines this resurgence and the potential of American unions with sympathetic yet critical eyes. Experts from a wide variety of disciplines—industrial relations, political science, economics, and sociology—identify the central developments, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the new initiatives, and assess the progress made and the prospects for the future. Though all agree on the importance of unions, their opinions of the success of current renewal efforts diverge greatly.

The interdisciplinary and comparative approach of Rekindling the Movement is both challenging and enlightening. Rather than merely trumpeting pet opinions, contributors provide hard evidence and causal analysis, grounded in realistic perspectives, to back up suggestions for the improvement of the new labor movement. Their straightforward observations about what is and is not possible, what does and does not work, will be of great practical value for policymakers and union leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801487125
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	06/06/2001
Series:	Frank W. Pierce Memorial Lectureship and Conference Series , #11
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.06(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Lowell Turner, Harry Katz, and Richard Hurd are Professors in the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Turner's many books include Fighting for Partnership and Democracy at Work, both from Cornell. Harry C. Katz is Dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, where he is Jack Sheinkman Professor of Collective Bargaining. He is the author of several books and the editor of Telecommunications: Restructuring Work and Employment Relations Worldwide, also from Cornell. Hurd is Director of the Labor Studies Program and coeditor of two books from Cornell, including Organizing to Win.

What People are Saying About This

Labour/Le Travail - Greg McElligott

Anyone concerned about the state of the American labour movement is likely to find reason for both hope and despair in this volume.... The editors of Rekindling the Movement have captured both tendencies in a comprehensive selection of articles, and consequently they present a mixed but probably fair reading of US labour's current prospects.... Rekindling the Movement will undoubtedly be an important and useful tool for organizers and those who study them. It should help rekindle the imagination as well.

Editorial Reviews

The writers included in Rekindling the Movement expound on the newer strategies Lichtenstein favors.... There's much that Lichtenstein and the authors of Rekindling the Movement discuss that provides hope.

--Kevin Mattson "Commonweal"

This is a brilliant follow-up to the 1998 anthology, Organizing to Win... With essays by writers from diverse disciplines, this book is essential for both labor and business leaders who are challenged to understand and accommodate the needs of a rapidly changing and diverse workforce.

--Library Journal

From the Publisher

Edited by Turner, Harry C. Katz, and Richard W. Hurd from the New York School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, this is a brilliant follow-up to the 1998 anthology, Organizing To Win: New Research on Union Strategies (Cornell Univ.). It addresses the problems, prospects, and alternatives facing U.S. labor unions as they make the transition from the industrial union model of the 20th century to accommodate a workforce that is more diverse, multicultural, and transnational. The most interesting sections of this book eloquently discuss the revival of the U.S. labor movement, its transformation to social movement unionism, lessons learned from attempts to organize immigrant and previously underserved workers, the obstacles facing union leaders, the effects of previous union mergers, and the political, social, cultural, and economic challenges that face unions as they attempt to survive in a rapidly evolving business and economic environment. With essays by writers from diverse disciplines, this book is essential for both labor and business leaders who are challenged to understand and accommodate the needs of a rapidly changing and diverse workforce. Highly recommended for both academic and public libraries. Norman B. Hutcherson, California State Univ., Bakersfield Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The writers included in Rekindling the Movement expound on the newer strategies Lichtenstein favors.... There's much that Lichtenstein and the authors of Rekindling the Movement discuss that provides hope.

Kevin Mattson

"Anyone concerned about the state of the American labour movement is likely to find reason for both hope and despair in this volume.... The editors of Rekindling the Movement have captured both tendencies in a comprehensive selection of articles, and consequently they present a mixed but probably fair reading of US labour's current prospects.... Rekindling the Movement will undoubtedly be an important and useful tool for organizers and those who study them. It should help rekindle the imagination as well."

Labour/Le Travail - Greg McElligott