Building Movement Bridges: The Coalition of Labor Union Women

(Hardback)

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Activists often participate in more than one social movement and organization. Bridging organizations are formed by activists who feel that the movements in which they are participating do not adequately address the various issues they are involved in. The author provides a case study of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), an organization which was founded in 1974. Using the CLUW as a model, the author demonstrates how one organization can address the needs of diverse social movements, in this case the women's movement and the labor movement. By tracing the formation and development of the CLUW, the author illustrates and elaborates on her theories concerning social movements and bridging organizations. She uses historical documents, first hand accounts, and a case study approach to analyze the interrelatedness of oppression, opposition, social change, movement change, and personal change associated with social movements and bridging organizations. Detailing the obstacles the CLUW faces, the author makes clear how important such organizations are as well as how difficult it can be to negotiate the collective identity of its members and reconcile the needs of various social groups represented therein.

Reviews

"Roth's study moves social movement scholarship in useful directions....[R]oth links data on individual biographies, organizational trajectories, and intermovement interactions in a multilevel analysis and provides a detailed appendix of her participant observation, her interviews with experts, members, and leaders, and her survey of CLUW members that is a model for explicating the methodology of such mixed-method studies. This book will be useful for scholars and students in the areas of labor, feminism, and social movements."-American Journal of Sociology
Readers interested in the relationship between the women's movement and the labor movement will appreciate this book....For students of social movement theory, labor history, and women's history, Building Movement Bridges raises crucial questions about the costs of "insider status" by focusing on issues of organizational development, change management, and advocacy politics. The book is especially helpful for younger readers and scholars who did not live through these movements. It is an interesting treatment of two movements at the center of America's current public discourse on social justice, women's rights, and democracy.-Industrial and Labor Relations Review
Roth's discussion of CLUW's culture is intriguing...Readers interested in the relationship between the women's movement and the labor movement will appreciate this book...The book is especially helpful for younger readers and scholars who did not live through these movements. It is interesting treatment of two movements at the center of America's current public discourse on social justice, women's rights, and democracy.-Industrial and Labor Relations Review
Roth's study moves social movement scholarship in useful directions....[R]oth links data on individual biographies, organizational trajectories, and intermovement interactions in a multilevel analysis and provides a detailed appendix of her participant observation, her interviews with experts, members, and leaders, and her survey of CLUW members that is a model for explicating the methodology of such mixed-method studies. This book will be useful for scholars and students in the areas of labor, feminism, and social movements.-American Journal of Sociology
Silke Roth makes a significant contribution to social movement theory by introducing the concept of "social movement interaction" and showing how interactions between movements can be analyzed at three levels...Roth's analysis of how CLUW employed various frame-alignment processes to make these issues compatible with the labor agenda is particularly interesting...Roth develops a typology of CLUW membership that captures its diversity and allows her to analyze similarities and differences among members with different backgrounds...Roth's analysis of how CLUW has influenced the labor movement is thorough and convincing... Building Movement Bridges will, I hope, encourage more scholars to study social movement interatction.-Contemorary Sociology
"Readers interested in the relationship between the women's movement and the labor movement will appreciate this book....For students of social movement theory, labor history, and women's history, Building Movement Bridges raises crucial questions about the costs of "insider status" by focusing on issues of organizational development, change management, and advocacy politics. The book is especially helpful for younger readers and scholars who did not live through these movements. It is an interesting treatment of two movements at the center of America's current public discourse on social justice, women's rights, and democracy."-Industrial and Labor Relations Review
"Roth's discussion of CLUW's culture is intriguing...Readers interested in the relationship between the women's movement and the labor movement will appreciate this book...The book is especially helpful for younger readers and scholars who did not live through these movements. It is interesting treatment of two movements at the center of America's current public discourse on social justice, women's rights, and democracy."-Industrial and Labor Relations Review
"Silke Roth makes a significant contribution to social movement theory by introducing the concept of "social movement interaction" and showing how interactions between movements can be analyzed at three levels...Roth's analysis of how CLUW employed various frame-alignment processes to make these issues compatible with the labor agenda is particularly interesting...Roth develops a typology of CLUW membership that captures its diversity and allows her to analyze similarities and differences among members with different backgrounds...Roth's analysis of how CLUW has influenced the labor movement is thorough and convincing... Building Movement Bridges will, I hope, encourage more scholars to study social movement interatction."-Contemorary Sociology

Author Bio

SILKE ROTH is Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.