The Rise Of Organized Labor

The author is convinced that there is a ruling class in America today. He examines the American power structure as it has developed in the 1980s. He presents systematic, empirical evidence that a fixed group of privileged people dominates the American economy and government. The book demonstrates that an upper class comprising only one-half of one percent of the population occupies key positions within the corporate community. It shows how leaders within this "power elite" reach government and dominate it through processes of special-interest lobbying, policy planning and candidate selection. It is written not to promote any political ideology, but to analyze our society with accuracy.

This booklet is part of a series of units designed to help students take and defend a position on public issues. The booklet is premised on the idea that the study of how various labor-related conflicts were resolved in the past can throw light on the problem of how they ought to be resolved here and now. That is why this particular unit looks at the history of organized labor rather than concentrating just on current labor-related issues. Terms are defined and questions for discussion are presented. The material stresses that the reason for discussing a public issue is not to win the argument, both to understand more clearly one's own views and the reasons that support them, as well as differing opinions. Students are encouraged to view questions as: (1) ethical or value questions; (2) questions of definition; and (3) questions involving facts and explanations. The document is divided into six sections. The first is an introduction that identifies the central issues of the unit and how they will be approached. The second discusses the nature of work from the beginnings of industry. Perspectives of three workers and a manager are compared. The third section, "Labor Organizes," gives an overview of the labor movement from 1840 to 1900, discusses problems faced by organizers, and describes the Pullman Strike of 1894. The fourth section discusses the relationship between the government and the unions from 1900 to 1940. This section ends with a description of the Battle at the Overpass, a violent encounter at Ford Motor Company in 1937. The fifth section presents an overview of labor from 1940 to the present, and the challenge that labor problems present to the government. The last section is a review. Each section contains exercises and discussion guides. In the accompanying teacher's guide the units use historical, fictional, and contemporary situations. They assist students in using a structured approach to issues analysis and in developing the skills of reasoned discussion. Teachers should view the materials provided as possible strategies for developing discussion of public issues, and should pick and choose among the materials according to their own goals. The guide provides section by section assignments and activities. An 11-item bibliography and handouts are included. (DK)

When Wisconsin governor Scott Walker threatened the collective bargaining rights of the state's public sector employees in early 2011, the massive protests that erupted inresponse put the labor movement back on the nation's front pages. It was a fleeting reminder of a not-so-distant past when the “labor question”—and the power of organized labor—was part and parcel of a century-long struggle for justice and equality in America. Now, on the heels of the expansive Occupy Wall Street movement and midterm election outcomes that are encouraging for the labor movement, the lessons of history are a vital handhold for the thousands of activists and citizens everywhere who sense that something has gone terribly wrong. This pithy and accessible volume provides readers with an understanding of the history that is directly relevant to the economic and political crises working people face today, and points the way to a revitalized twenty-first-century labor movement. With original contributions from leading labor historians, social critics, and activists, Labor Rising makes crucial connections between the past and present, and then looks forward, asking how we might imagine a different future for all Americans.

Recommended by The Nation, the New Republic, Current Affairs, Bustle, In These Times An “entertaining, tough-minded, and strenuously argued” (The Nation) account of ten moments when workers fought to change the balance of power in America “A brilliantly recounted American history through the prism of major labor struggles, with critically important lessons for those who seek a better future for working people and the world.” —Noam Chomsky Powerful and accessible, A History of America in Ten Strikes challenges all of our contemporary assumptions around labor, unions, and American workers. In this brilliant book, labor historian Erik Loomis recounts ten critical workers' strikes in American labor history that everyone needs to know about (and then provides an annotated list of the 150 most important moments in American labor history in the appendix). From the Lowell Mill Girls strike in the 1830s to Justice for Janitors in 1990, these labor uprisings do not just reflect the times in which they occurred, but speak directly to the present moment. For example, we often think that Lincoln ended slavery by proclaiming the slaves emancipated, but Loomis shows that they freed themselves during the Civil War by simply withdrawing their labor. He shows how the hopes and aspirations of a generation were made into demands at a GM plant in Lordstown in 1972. And he takes us to the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the early nineteenth century where the radical organizers known as the Wobblies made their biggest inroads against the power of bosses. But there were also moments when the movement was crushed by corporations and the government; Loomis helps us understand the present perilous condition of American workers and draws lessons from both the victories and defeats of the past. In crystalline narratives, labor historian Erik Loomis lifts the curtain on workers' struggles, giving us a fresh perspective on American history from the boots up. Strikes include: Lowell Mill Girls Strike (Massachusetts, 1830–40) Slaves on Strike (The Confederacy, 1861–65) The Eight-Hour Day Strikes (Chicago, 1886) The Anthracite Strike (Pennsylvania, 1902) The Bread and Roses Strike (Massachusetts, 1912) The Flint Sit-Down Strike (Michigan, 1937) The Oakland General Strike (California, 1946) Lordstown (Ohio, 1972) Air Traffic Controllers (1981) Justice for Janitors (Los Angeles, 1990)

Growth of labor unions in America from the craft societies of colonial times to the multi-million member organizations of today.