Struggling Against U.S. Labor\u27s Decline Under Late Capitalism: Lessons for the Early 21st Century

The three books reviewed in this essay provide meaningful contributionsand extensions to the crucial dialog on what is needed for U. S. trade union movement revival in an era of neoliberal globalization and increasing employment insecurity. What Andrew Battista’s The Revival of Labor Liberalism, Steve Early’s Embedded with Organized Labor: Journalistic Reflections on the Class War at Home, and Steve K. Ashby and C. J. Hawking’s Staley: The Fight for a New American Labor Movement make painstakingly clear is that the renewal of the U. S. labor movement — if there is to be one at this time — cannot simply occur through modest labor law modifications, such as the passing of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or electing allegedly “pro-labor”Democratic Party politicians to the White House or to the U. S. Congress.Although these volumes do not share the same theoretical perspectives, all provide convincing evidence that modest reforms will be unable, in and of themselves, to successfully resuscitate a flagging U. S. trade union movement. Tinkering around the edges of U. S. labor’s strategy and tactics will hardly begin to address the fundamental problems. Clearly, what is needed is a thoroughgoing transformation, with active involvement and engagement of the unions’ rank-and-file membership at levels that have largely been absent for more than the past few decades

A Cold War Thaw in the International Working Class Movement? The World Federation of Trade Unions and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 1967-1977

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) emerged from the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) in 1949 after Western trade union affiliates in the latter organization expressed major policy differences over the Marshall Plan. For its first 20 years, the ICFTU refused all forms of collaboration with the WFTU, contending that the Federation advocated a politically monolithic Communism with its primary function being the promotion of Soviet policy. The ICF-TU\u27s position was disingenuous, given the WFTU\u27s polycentric nature encompassing variants of Communist theory and practice dating back at least to October 1965. Moreover, even when the WFTU Secretariat condemned the August 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the ICFTU still refused cooperation. While a minor thaw between the ICFTU and the WFTU occurred during the early through the late 1970s, it was, at best, tentative, minimal and inconsequential

Why Unions Matter, 2nd edition

At the end of the 21st century’s first decade, the U. S. trade union movement is undoubtedly in crisis. Problems abound, with no easy solutions in sight. Elected in 1995 to lead the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO), the “New Voice” team headed by John Sweeney buoyed the hopes of trade union reformers that it would overhaul the stultifying bureaucracy of the AFL–CIO, which Lane Kirkland, the previous federation president, did little to dismantle or significantly alter during his 16 years in office. Additionally, Sweeney promised to beef up the resources devoted to union organizing in an attempt to reverse labor’s downward trajectory, although he was unsuccessful in halting the precipitous decline in union density. Moreover, Sweeney presided over the first major schism in decades within the U. S. trade union movement when a number of large unions disaffiliated from the AFL–CIO and went on to form the Change to Win Federation (CTW) in the fall of 2005. Finally, with the worst economic recession confronting the global economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s, U. S. labor still had trouble gaining traction for its program with the citizenry at large, who had experienced the brutishness and nastiness of eight years of the George W. Bush administration. In spite of these substantial problems, which are all dealt with in this short, concise volume, Michael Yates makes an extremely convincing case, in a clear, well-written and eloquent manner, that unions still do matter, perhaps now more than ever, and that they are, in fact, our best hope for achieving an egalitarian society in the United States today

The United Auto Workers Union as American Vanguard, 1935 to 1970: Reality Or Illusion?

The book reviewed in this essay adopts the position that the UAW, and its long-time leader Waiter Reuther, were among the main progenitors of a distinctly American version of social democracy, if not indeed its sole architects. While not denying some of the union\u27s significant collective bargaining victories, obtained from some of the world\u27s largest and most powerful auto manufacturers, combined with its commitment to developing a social democratic polity in the United States, I maintain that Reuther and the UAW also must be evaluated on other criteria such as the internal regime consciously constructed in pursuit of the union\u27s goals

A reevaluation of the trade union unity league, 1929-1934

The Third Period trade union activities of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), especially the creation of independent red industrial unions as opposed to continuing to work within the craft-oriented American Federation of Labor (AFL) unions, has been widely criticized in the literature. The recent opening of the CPUSA archives has made it possible to reevaluate the Party\u27s activities during this era. While the TUUL unions suffered major defeats and had difficulties in organizing in the heavy and mass production industries such as mining, textile, maritime and steel, these unions experienced considerable organizing success in light industries in New York City, particularly after the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933. Besides promoting industrial organization, the TUUL\u27s vision of union organization was structurally different from that of the AFL. Specifically, the red industrial unions, unlike the AFL unions, attempted to promote democratic, rank-and-file participation in union affairs as opposed to leaving such activities solely in the hands of the union officialdom

A Cold War at international Harvester: The Shachtmanites and the farm equipment workers union\u27s demise, 1946-1955

The Workers Party (WP)/Independent Socialist League (ISL), whose members were known as the Shachtmanites, obtained control of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 6 through the dominant Positive Action Caucus (PAC). The Shachtmaniteled PAC red-baited the United Farm Equipment and Metal Workers Union (FE), the first time in U. S. trade union history in which a Marxist organization of the ostensibly revolutionary left aided in the destruction of a Communist Party USA-led union. Using Local 6 as the base from which to attack the FE, whose membership was concentrated in the Chicago-area Harvester plants, the PAC demonized Local 6\u27s CPUSA-led caucus, the Committee to Build Local 6 (CBL6), by arguing that it was pro-CPUSA, pro-FE and anti-UAW. Once the PAC successfully painted the CBL6 as the adversary within the local possessing an ideology foreign to the UAW, it was easy to portray the FE as being the UAW\u27s major enemy, which had to be destroyed at any cost

Union Solidarity, Collective Struggle and the Caterpillar Labor Dispute, 1991-1998

The point is not to downplay the importance of union solidarity, whichis, of course, absolutely vital to any successful labor struggle. It is important to acknowledge, however, that union solidarity should not be celebrated merely because of its occurrence. Rather, what must be emphasized are the potential positive benefits that can accrue as a result of workers’ cooperation. This means that when certain types of solidaristic actions fail to bring about the desired goals, they should be abandoned and alternative forms of union solidarity should be implemented, if at all possible