A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy

(Paperback)

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From longtime labor organizer Jane McAlevey, a vital call-to-arms in favor of unions, a key force capable of defending our democracy

For decades, racism, corporate greed, and a skewed political system have been eating away at the social and political fabric of the United States. Yet as McAlevey reminds us, there is one weapon whose effectiveness has been proven repeatedly throughout U.S. history: unions.

InA Collective Bargain,longtime labor organizer, environmental activist, and political campaigner Jane McAlevey makes the case that unions are a key institution capable of taking effective action against todays super-rich corporate class. Since the 1930s, when unions flourished under New Deal protections, corporations have waged a stealthy and ruthless war against the labor movement. And theyve been winning.

Until today. Because, as McAlevey shows, unions are making a comeback. Want to reverse the nations mounting wealth gap Put an end to sexual harassment in the workplace End racial disparities on the job Negotiate climate justice Bring back unions.

As McAlevey travels from Pennsylvania hospitals, where nurses are building a new kind of patient-centered unionism, to Silicon Valley, where tech workers have turned to old-fashioned collective action, to the battle being waged by Americas teachers, readers have a ringside seat at the struggles that will shape our countryand our future.

Reviews

An introduction to the world of unions and their enemies. . . . McAleveys writing is an attempt to circulate organizers skills, breathing life into the long-quiescent labor movement. . . . A Collective Bargain, like the rest of McAleveys work, is indispensable. Alex Press, Bookforum Alex Press, Bookforum Incisive, brilliant, combined with trenchant strategic analysis.If we had more organizers like Jane McAlevey, wed be winning. Van Jones, CNN host and author ofBeyond the Messy Truth A half century ago, the Koch family targeted workers collective power with so-called right-to-work laws. Now they and their allies have expanded their agenda to shackling democracy writ large... McAlevey shows us how workplaces provided a laboratory for this audacious project of dominationand better still, she explains how following the strategies and tactics of savvy union organizers could help save America from an ever more ruthless right...This empowering book could not be more timely. Nancy MacLean, author ofDemocracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Rights Stealth Plan for America “Jane McAlevey has devoted her life to reigning the destructive power of concentrated wealth and she is consumed with one over-arching question: How do we win In this essential book, she draws on decades of organizing experience to make an overwhelming case that the new face of working-class power is female and fiercely feminist. Its past time to listen up. Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything “Jane McAlevey is a brilliant strategist, rousing organizer, and razor-sharp critic inside the labor movement. In this critical moment when labor is resurgent, McAleveys small “d democratic spirit, and her humane, and deeply informed reporting and analysis is needed more than ever. Katrina vanden Heuval, Editorial Director & Publisher, The Nation Read this book! Its full of effective strategies for overcoming voter suppression against even the stiffest odds. Jane McAlevey is the type of experienced organizer thecurrent White House fears. Benjamin Todd Jealous, Former National President and CEO of the NAACP “A battle cry for union rights in a time hostile to labor organizations. Kirkus Kirkus Reviews Labor activist McAlevey delivers a persuasive argument that the power of strong, democratic trade unions can fix many of Americas social problems in this timely cri de coeur. . . . She offers a useful primer on how labor organizing works, and effectively refutes common assumptions about unions. . . . McAleveys . . .humor and contagious confidence in the efficacy of organized labor give this succinct volume an outsize impact. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Author Bio

Jane McAlevey is an organizer, author and scholar. Her first book, Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell) was named the "most valuable book of 2012" by The Nation Magazine. She is a regular commentator on NPR, Jacobin, and local media. She continues to work as an organizer on union campaigns, lead contract negotiations, and train and develop organizers.