Trade unions Books

Trade Review"Taft makes it clear that, even in a Deep South state with some of the most reactionary political traditions, courageous trade-union brothers and sisters - black and white - struggled hard and well to secure some measure of social justice." - Journal of American History "As befits a state in which coal, iron, and steel were the bulwarks of its industrial sector, Taft stresses the history of unionism among coal miners and iron and steel workers. Here we learn much about the experiences of the United Mine Workers of America and the Steel Workers Organizing Committee - United Steelworkers of America in the Deep South. Yet Taft does not neglect the history of other Alabama workers. Building tradesmen, railroad employees, textile millhands, and Gadsden's rubber workers all appear in the pages of this book. Here we have the most complete and modern history of a state labor movement in the South written from the perspective of its institutional leaders." - American Historical Review"

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Book SynopsisHow did the Chicago Teamsters Local 705, once notorious for corruption and despotism, become an organization that the Wall Street Journal hailed as a model of reform? In this compelling narrative, Bruno tells of the often violent, always contentious struggle to reform one of the nation''s most powerful and independent union locals. During the worst years, Chicago Teamsters operated under thinly veiled threats and settled differences by fistfights. Workers who questioned the powerful leadership faced physical intimidation, verbal abuse, and trumped-up charges that threatened their jobs. With the expulsion of key leaders in the early 1990s, however, a decade-long struggle for control of the union began as Local 705 cast off the old days of coercion and payoffs. Reformers encouraged rank-and-file Teamsters to choose their own leaders, and after two successive open elections, an unprecedented number of Teamsters turned out to vote in a dramatic 2000 election featuring five Trade Review"An important, engrossing, and well-written book.... Bruno's colorful commentary brings to life the high drama of the Teamsters' transformation."—Paul F. Clark, Pennsylvania State University "A unique and interesting study. No one else has reported such a fascinating case of day-by-day internal union politics."—George Strauss, University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsTable of Contents Introduction Part One—The Corruption and Redemption of Local 705 1. Teamsters' Power and Politics 2. Fighting Corruption 3. Democratic Governance 4. Democracy Brings Results Part Two—Union Democracy, Elections, and the Politics of Local 705 5. The Reformers Split 6. The Nomination of Political Parties 7. The Campaign Begins 8. Campaign Platforms and Rank-and-File Votes 9. Campaign Issues 10. The 705 Vote Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis history of Ottumwa's meatpacking workers provides insights into the development of several forms of labour relations in Iowa during the Democratic party's ascendancy across much of industrial North America following World War II.

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Book SynopsisPersonal accounts are at the heart of Closing Sysco, where each story reveals the cultural, political, and historical ramifications of industrial closure in Sydney, Nova Scotia, the former steel city of Atlantic Canada.Trade Review"Closing Sysco provides something more for those interested in our present environmental moment. Its analysis of deindustrialization raises important questions about what we mean when we talk about a "just transition" away from our current dependence on fossil fuels.3 It invites us to listen carefully to the voices of fossil fuel workers and communities in that discussion, to ensure that the shape of this industrial transition is less devastating and more just and equitable than what unfolded on Cape Breton in the second half of the twentieth century." -- Ken Cruikshank, McMaster University * Network in Canadian History and Environment *"The book's major strength is unpacking the impact of cultures of resistance and representation on local experiences of industrial decline. Ultimately, Closing Sysco represents a significant contribution to the growing literature on deindustrialisation." -- Matt Beebee, University of Exeter * Scottish Labour History *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Diversify or Die: Planned Obsolescence in the Dosco Years 2. Radical Reds and Responsible Unionism: Building a “Working-Class Town” 3. It Brought Us Joy, It Brought Us Tears: Black Friday and the Parade of Concern 4. Decades in Transition: Modernization and Mechanization on the Shop Floor 5. Labour Environmentalism: Fighting for Compensation at the Sydney Coke Ovens 6. Bury It, Burn It, Truck It Away: Remediating a Toxic Legacy? 7. From Dependence to Enterprise: Economic Restructuring at the End of the Steel City 8. Making History from Sydney Steel, 2012–2016 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisClosing Sysco presents a history of deindustrialization and working-class resistance in the Cape Breton steel industry between 1945 and 2001. The Sydney Steel Works is at the heart of this story, having existed in tandem with Cape Breton’s larger coal operations since the early twentieth century. The book explores the multifaceted nature of deindustrialization; the internal politics of the steelworkers’ union; the successful efforts to nationalize the mill in 1967; the years in transition under public ownership; and the confrontations over health, safety, and environmental degradation in the 1990s and 2000s. Closing Sysco moves beyond the moment of closure to trace the cultural, historical, and political ramifications of deindustrialization that continue to play out in post-industrial Cape Breton Island. A significant intervention into the international literature on deindustrialization, this study pushes scholarship beyond the bounds of political econoTrade Review"Closing Sysco provides something more for those interested in our present environmental moment. Its analysis of deindustrialization raises important questions about what we mean when we talk about a "just transition" away from our current dependence on fossil fuels.3 It invites us to listen carefully to the voices of fossil fuel workers and communities in that discussion, to ensure that the shape of this industrial transition is less devastating and more just and equitable than what unfolded on Cape Breton in the second half of the twentieth century." -- Ken Cruikshank, McMaster University * Network in Canadian History and Environment *"The book's major strength is unpacking the impact of cultures of resistance and representation on local experiences of industrial decline. Ultimately, Closing Sysco represents a significant contribution to the growing literature on deindustrialisation." -- Matt Beebee, University of Exeter * Scottish Labour History *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments List of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Diversify or Die: Planned Obsolescence in the Dosco Years 2. Radical Reds and Responsible Unionism: Building a “Working-Class Town” 3. It Brought Us Joy, It Brought Us Tears: Black Friday and the Parade of Concern 4. Decades in Transition: Modernization and Mechanization on the Shop Floor 5. Labour Environmentalism: Fighting for Compensation at the Sydney Coke Ovens 6. Bury It, Burn It, Truck It Away: Remediating a Toxic Legacy? 7. From Dependence to Enterprise: Economic Restructuring at the End of the Steel City 8. Making History from Sydney Steel, 2012–2016 Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisLabor unions and courts have rarely been allies. From their earliest efforts to organize, unions have been confronted with hostile judges and antiunion doctrines. In this book, Julius G. Getman argues that while the role of the Supreme Court has become more central in shaping labor law, its opinions betray a profound ignorance of labor relations along with a persisting bias against unions. In The Supreme Court on Unions, Getman critically examines the decisions of the nation''s highest court in those areas that are crucial to unions and the workers they represent: organizing, bargaining, strikes, and dispute resolution.As he discusses Supreme Court decisions dealing with unions and labor in a variety of different areas, Getman offers an interesting historical perspective to illuminate the ways in which the Court has been an influence in the failures of the labor movement. During more than sixty years that have seen the Supreme Court take a dominant role, both unions and the iTrade Review"For more than half a century, Julius G. Getman has brought to the study of labor law not simply the analytical rigor of a law professor, but a hunger for facts—to understand the effects of legal rules on human behavior—and the empathy of a participant-observer—whether among paper workers in Maine, clerical workers at Yale, or university professors across the country.Getman's unique and invaluable perspective is fully on display in this tour through the Supreme Court’s labor jurisprudence." -- Craig Becker, General Counsel, AFL-CIO"In this wide-ranging, critical survey of the Supreme Court's labor law decisions, Julius G. Getman displays the practical wisdom and acuity that has made him one of the nation's leading labor law teachers and scholars for more than a half century. Even the most attentive students and scholars of labor law will find valuable insights in this book." -- Cynthia Estlund, New York University School of Law, author of Regoverning the Workplace"Julius G. Getman deftly demonstrates how the Supreme Court—over many decades—has restrained the protections and possibilities contained in the National Labor Relations Act, one of the major achievements of the New Deal era. He paints a detailed and disturbing picture of Court-imposed limitations on workers' ability to exert lawful economic pressure and to vindicate their collective voice. In doing so, Getman brings welcome historical perspective to the current state of U.S. labor law, and situates the Court as an important contributor to the NLRA’s weakened status." -- James J. Brudney, Fordham Law School"Julius G. Getman's terrific new book supports in detail his thesis that 'the Supreme Court has played a major role in transforming the National Labor Relations Act from a law meant to empower workers to a law that helps to sustain the power of employers.’ He shows that this reactionary Supreme Court role began almost immediately after the passage of the NLRA, that it has continued through Democratic and Republican majorities on the Court, and in particular that the Supreme Court’s gutting of the strike weapon has drastically tilted collective bargaining against workers and toward corporations. Getman’s keen analysis is informed and strengthened by his unusual combination of academic legal scholarship, research on the reality of labor law in the workplace, and personal involvement." -- John W. Wilhelm, Retired President, UNITE HERETable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Court and Union Organizing 2. The Supreme Court and Collective Bargaining 3. The Supreme Court and the Right to Strike 4. The Court and the Protected Status of Economic Pressure 5. The Supreme Court, Union Picketing, and Boycotts 6. Exclusivity and the Duty of Fair Representation 7. The Court and the Definition of "Employee" under the NLRA 8. The Supreme Court and Arbitration Conclusion

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Book SynopsisA story that involves as its main players workers and Walmart does not usually have a happy ending for labor, so the counternarrative offered by Building Power from Below is must reading for activists and union personnel as well as scholars. In 2008 Walmart acquired a controlling share in a large supermarket chain in Santiago, Chile. As part of the deal Walmart had to accept the unions that were already in place. Since then, Chilean retail and warehouse workers have done something that has seemed impossible for labor in the United States: they have organized even more successful unions and negotiated unprecedented contracts with Walmart.In Building Power from Below, Carolina Bank Muñoz attributes Chilean workers' success in challenging the world's largest corporation to their organizations' commitment to union democracy and building strategic capacity. Chilean workers have spent years building grassroots organizations committed to principles of union democracy. Trade ReviewAn accessible, insightful, and refreshing contribution. * Mobilization *Building Power from Below is an enjoyable read. Muñoz introduces the union leaders and activists by name. The reader feels an intimacy with those activists. This book should be read by all those interested in strengthening democracy, militancy and strategic capacity in trade unions. It is a demonstration of how workers even under a neoliberal state and employed by the world's most anti-union corporation can beat the bully and win. * Counterfire *I would highly recommend this book to both labor activists/organizers and students of labor studies alike. This book provides a detailed account of successful union organizing against the powerful, antiunion, transnational employer that is Walmart. Both union organizers and labor studies students will benefit from Muñoz's analysis of successful union organization outside of the Western context. * Labor Studies Journal *This book gives us insights of how Walmart employees have been able to actually reach significant concessions from this giant corporation. Importantly, this book should not just be read by scholars interested in employment relations in the Global South. Academics and activists interested in the different types of power organizations can have, how to build it, and how to use it, should all have this on their shelves. * Work and Occupations *What Bank Muñoz successfully demonstrates in this book is that lessons for successful organization can often come from unexpected places. I recommend this book to scholars of labor politics and social change; moreover, its short length makes it well suited for classroom use. * Contemporary Sociology *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Acronyms 1. Beating the Bully 2. Walmart in Chile 3. Leveraging Power 4. Strategic Democracy 5. The Flexible Militancy of Walmart Retail Workers 6. Looking Back and Going Forward References Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWhat makes Re-Union stand out is that this solution is not only bold but also plausible. According to Madland, implementing the labor reforms is a matter of scale because rudimentary forms of new labor policies already exist in the United States. To support this idea, he provides numerous examples. Anyone who is interested in how theory and practice interact should not miss out on this book. * ILR Review *David Madland's exquisitely argued new book does not merely rehearse facts that we already know. Instead, it makes a bold, plausible, and sensible proposal about how to revive the fortunes of trade unions in the USA, and, in fact, globally. * Transfer *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Plan 2. Unions as the Solution 3. The Contours of a Modern Labor System 4. Lessons from Canada, Britain, and Australia 5. Answering Skeptics 6. Creating the New System

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Book SynopsisThe world of work has changed and so have trade unions with mergers, rebrandings and new unions being formed. The question is, how positioned are the unions to organize the unorganized? With more than three quarters of UK workers unrepresented and the growth of precarious employment and the gig economy this topical new book by Bob Smale reports up-to-date research on union identities and what he terms ‘niche unionism’, while raising critical questions for the future.Trade Review"This is an interesting and important examination of how different unions have positioned themselves to recruit workers in areas of the economy that are currently largely unorganized." Ed Blissett, University of Hertfordshire"This book offers a rich documentation of the direction of travel among unions in Great Britain, and can be effectively used as a reference book for those who teach and research on unionism and union identity." The British Journal of Industrial RelationsTable of ContentsIntroduction; What is the problem?; A new approach to understanding trade union identities and the role of niche; The general unions; The industrial and occupational unions; The organisational unions; The geographical unions; The developing story of union identities and niche unionism; The future of union identities and niche unionism.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the representation of women and their interests in the world of work across four trade unions in France and the UK. Drawing on case studies of the careers of 100 activists and a longitudinal study of the trade unions' struggle for equal pay in the UK, it unveils the social, organizational, and political conditions that contribute to the reproduction of gender inequalities or, on the contrary, allow the promotion of equality. Guillaume’s nuanced evaluation is a call to redefine the role of trade unions in the delivering of gender equality, contributing to broader debates on the effectiveness of equality policies and the enforcement of equality legislation.Table of Contents1 Introduction 2 Unions’ Representation Of Women and Their Interests In the Workplace 3 The Gendered Making Of Union Careers 4 Legal Mobilizations By Unions to Defend Equal Pay In Great Britain 5 Conclusion: Lessons for Future (Comparative) Research

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Book SynopsisOrganise or Die? Democracy and Leadership in South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers is the first in-depth study of one of the leading trade unions in the country. Founded in 1982, the trade union played a key role in the struggle against white minority rule, before turning into a central protagonist of the ruling Tripartite Alliance after apartheid. Deftly navigating through workerist, social movement and political terrains that shape the South African labour landscape, this book sheds light on the path that led to the unprecedented 2012 Marikana massacre, the dissolution of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) federation and to fractures within the African National Congress (ANC) itself.Working with the notions of organisational agency and strategic bureaucratisation, Raphaël Botiveau shows how the founding leadership of NUM built their union’s structures with a view to mirror those of the multinational mining companies NUM faced. Good leadership proved key to the union’s success in recruiting and uniting mineworkers and NUM became an impressive school for union and political cadres, producing a number of South Africa’s top post-apartheid leaders. An incisive analysis of leadership styles and strategies shows how the fragile balance between an increasingly distant leadership and an increasingly militant membership gradually broke down.Botiveau provides a compelling narrative of NUM’s powerful history and the legacy of its leadership. It will appeal to a broad readership – including journalists, students and social sciences scholars – interested in South Africa’s contemporary politics and labour history.Table of Contents Figures And Tables Acknowledgements Acronyms And Abbreviations Chapter 1 Introduction: South African Trade Unions in Apartheid and Democracy Part I Organisational Agency In Union Bureaucracy And Politics Chapter 2 Local Weaknesses Solved through Centralisation Chapter 3 The Power of Head Office: Building National Bureaucracy Chapter 4 Doing Union Politics: The Branches as Idealised Seat of Union Power Chapter 5 The Regions as Antechambers of National Power Part II Leading Mineworkers: A Charterist Leadership School Chapter 6 The Burden of Leadership Chapter 7 The Learning Organisation Chapter 8 Trajectories of Union Leaders and NUM Leadership Ideals Chapter 9 Taking Control of NUM: The Rise of the Communist Faction Chapter 10 Conclusion: From Bureaucratic Organisation to Bureaucratic Politics Index

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Book SynopsisPublished in the 50th anniversary year of the 1973 Durban strikes, Labour Disrupted honours this milestone by reflecting on the past and the future of labour, primarily in South Africa but also globally. It focuses on how South Africa’s lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic further exposed key contradictions and challenges that labour movements face. The contributions include a diverse range of topics by those actively engaged in the labour movement, who tackle a number of thorny issues: from redefining democracy in South Africa, to experiences of inclusiveness (or lack thereof) in workplace environments by women, young people, migrant workers, LGBTI people and people living with disabilities. They address contemporary issues related to the use of technology and the impact of the fourth industrial revolution on the youth and the working class, and the challenge of skills development and restructuring in the workplace. Labour Disrupted debates new forms of organising and labour movement alliances required to address issues of social justice in education, health and community solidarity, and exposes the precariousness of union organisation under the brutal forces of globalisation.Table of Contents Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Introduction: Disruptions and New Directions in South African Labour Studies – Andries Bezuidenhout, Malehoko Tshoaedi and Christine Bischoff Chapter 1 Fragmented Labour Movement, Fragmented Labour Studies: New Directions for Research and Theory – Lucien van der Walt PART I CHANGING SOLIDARITIES Chapter 2 Patriarchal Collusions and Women’s Marginalisation in Mining Unions – Asanda-Jonas Benya Chapter 3 Youth, Trade Unions and the Challenges of Employment Christine Bischoff Chapter 4 Community Health Care Workers in Gauteng: Volunteerism as a Band-Aid for Unemployment – Nomkhosi Xulu-Gama and Aisha Lorgat PART II TECHNOLOGY AND WORK Chapter 5 Trade Unions, Technology and Skills – Siphelo Ngcwangu Chapter 6 Labour Process, Hegemony and Technology: ‘Sanitised Workplace Orders’ at Two South African Mines – John Mashayamombe Chapter 7 Trade Union Responses to Production Technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution – Mondli Hlatshwayo Chapter 8 Emotional Labour in Government Frontline Work: The Burden of Public Call Centre Workers – Babalwa Magoqwana PART III NEW FORMS OF ORGANISING Chapter 9 Why Other Spaces Matter: The Case of Mamelodi Train Sector – Mpho Mmadi Chapter 10 Social Capital Unionism and Empowerment: A Case of Solidarity Union at ArcelorMittal Vanderbijlpark – Jantjie Xaba Chapter 11 Hegemony, Counter-Hegemony and the Role of Social Movements – Janet Cherry Chapter 12 Competing Interests: Investment Companies and the Future of Labour – Sandla Nomvete Chapter 13 Going Global, Building Local: A Southern Perspective on the Future of Labour Internationalism – Edward Webster PART IV LABOUR AND LOCKDOWN Chapter 14 The Labour Movement’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic – Christine Bischoff Conclusion Questions, Answers and New Directions – Andries Bezuidenhout, Christine Bischoff and Malehoko Tshoaedi Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisThis Elgar Introduction provides an overview of some of the key theories that inform human resource management and employment relations as a field of study. Leading scholars in the field explore theories in the context of contemporary debates concerning policies that affect and regulate work and the management of employment, as well as the activities and experiences of actors within the employment relationship. The book is divided into three sections to capture different theoretical lenses used to reflect on HRM and ER concerns about work: systems and historical development; institutions; and people and processes. Expert contributors have drawn on extensive research experience to present a contemporary understanding of a range of theories, how they evolved, and how they might be used in the future. Essential reading for HRM, ER and management scholars and research students, this book challenges readers to reassess their thinking about the significance of theory in research and practice.Trade Review‘Bringing together a diverse set of authors of distinguished pedigree, this collection provides an authoritative survey of theories of the employment relationship. Classical theories of work and employment are fully represented, with excellent chapters on Marxism, pluralism, feminism, human relations, labour process and systems theory, but so too are newer theoretical currents, many of which have their point of origin in the broader field of management studies. There are strong chapters on trust, role theory, evolution, paradox, social exchange, RBV and AMO: bodies of thought that are generating fresh understandings of employment and how it is managed. The collection as a whole is an invaluable resource for students, teachers and researchers; a broad-ranging and imaginative survey of how we think about work.’ -- Edmund Heery, Cardiff University, UK‘What is wonderful about this book is that in one place you can find all the prominent theories of HR and employment relations. The individual chapters are outstanding, which is what I would have expected from a stellar editorial team and first-rate contributors. A must-read for anybody interested in human resource management.’ -- Sir Cary Cooper, CBE, University of Manchester, UKTable of ContentsContents: 1. Theories used in Employment Relations and Human Resource Management Keith Townsend, Aoife M. McDermott, Kenneth Cafferkey and Tony Dundon 2. Marxism at Work Roger Seifert 3. Neo-Pluralism in contemporary employment relations and HRM: the case for workplace and academic dialogue Peter Ackers 4. Applying Scientific Management to Modern HRM and ER Niall Cullinane and Jean Cushen 5. Cracking Labour Process theory in employment relations and HRM Shiona Chillas and Alina Baluch 6. The legacy of the Human Relations School: Looking back and moving forward Sarah Jenkins 7. The theory of high-performance work systems Peter Boxall and Meng-Long Huo 8. Systems Theory: Forgotten Legacy and Future Prospects Brian Harney 9. Evolutionary psychological theory and human resource management Andrew Timming 10. Personnel Economics: Managing Human Resources through Performance-related Pay Victoria Wass 11. Advances in Labour Regulation Theory Peter Waring and Mark Bray 12. Institutional Theory, Business Systems and Employment Relations Geoffrey Wood and Matthew Allen 13. Varieties of Capitalism Glenn Morgan and Heike Doering 14. Human Resource Management and Paradox Theory Anne Keegan, Julia Brandl and Ina Aust 15. Revisiting Human Capital Theory: Progress and Prospects Jonathan Winterton and Kenneth Cafferkey 16. Feminist Theory and Employment Relations Anne-Marie Greene 17. Trust, Distrust And Human Resource Management Neve Iseava, Colin Hughes and Mark Saunders 18. Social Exchange Theory, Employment Relations and Human Resource Management Christine Cross and Tony Dundon 19. Using Role Theory to Understand and Solve Employment Relations and Human Resources Problems Qian Yi Lee, Keith Townsend, Ashlea Troth and Rebecca Loudoun 20. Fairness in the workplace: Organisational justice and the employment relationship Melinda Laundon, Paula McDonald and Abby Cathcart 21. Ability, Motivation, and Opportunity Theory: A formula for employee performance? Ashlea Kellner, Kenneth Cafferkey and Keith Townsend 22. The Resource-Based View Approach and HRM Keith Whitfield 23. LMX and HRM: A multi-level review of how LMX is used to explain employment relationships Anna Bos-Nehles and Mieke Audenaert 24. Social Mobilisation Theory in HR and employment relations Lorraine Ryan, Caroline Murphy and Daniel Troy Index

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Book SynopsisIn the midst of the freezing winter of 1978–79, more than 2,000 strikes, infamously coined the “Winter of Discontent,” erupted across Britain as workers rejected the then Labour Government’s attempts to curtail wage increases with an incomes policy. Labour’s subsequent electoral defeat at the hands of the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher ushered in an era of unprecedented political, economic, and social change for Britain. A potent social myth also quickly developed around the Winter of Discontent, one where “bloody-minded” and “greedy” workers brought down a sympathetic government and supposedly invited the ravages of Thatcherism upon the British labour movement. 'The Winter of Discontent' provides a re-examination of this crucial series of events in British history by charting the construction of the myth of the Winter of Discontent. Highlighting key strikes and bringing forward the previously-ignored experiences of female, black, and Asian rank-and-file workers along-side local trade union leaders, the author places their experiences within a broader constellation of trade union, Labour Party, and Conservative Party changes in the 1970s, showing how striking workers’ motivations become much more textured and complex than the “bloody-minded” or “greedy” labels imply. The author further illustrates that participants’ memories represent a powerful force of “counter-memory,” which for some participants, frame the Winter of Discontent as a positive and transformative series of events, especially for the growing number of female activists. Overall, this fascinating book illuminates the nuanced contours of myth, memory, and history of the Winter of Discontent.Trade ReviewReviews 'The most comprehensive, balanced and persuasive analysis of the Winter of Discontent so far available.'Pat Thane'An important book of considerable scholarship and historical technique, offering valuable alternative perspectives and significant insights into the industrial unrest of the British ‘winter of discontent’.' John Shepherd, University of Huddersfield'Lopez’s study focuses – as the title suggests – on the creation of the myths that surrounded the Winter of Discontent, and their subsequent repackaging and reiteration in the 1980s and beyond. Utilising a number of previously unseen sources, especially some stimulating and thought-provoking interviews with a number of those who participated on various sides of the 1978/9 industrial disputes, the study provides an important addition to the ever-growing historiography of late-twentieth-century British political history.' Andrew Edwards, Labour History Review'The book makes possible a significantly more nuanced understanding, both of the ‘lived experience’ of those who participated in industrial action and of the dire economic conditions from which the strikes emerged. The result is a valuable contribution to the scholarly literature on the 1970s.'Robert Saunders, Twentieth Century British History'Martin López looks beyond the common, monolithic understanding of the period to examine the complex, underlying forces that affected the strikes and their reception by Labour and Conservative politicians, the media and the British public. Her book traces the ways in which understandings and experiences of gender were embedded within workers’ lives and the increasing gendering of trade union spaces, which is often overlooked in retellings of the event. ... this is a valuable and important book for people interested in British labour, economic and political history, as well as gender and transnational feminist studies. Martin López deepens and enriches previous scholarly understandings of the period.' Laura Y. Merrell, Feminist ReviewTable of Contents Dedication Acknowledgements Foreword by Sheila Rowbotham Introduction 1. The Ghosts of the Past: Myth and the Winter of Discontent 2. Winter of Discontent:Causes and Context 3. The Floodgates Open: The Strike at Ford 4. ‘The Second Stalingrad:’ The Road Haulage Strikes 5. ‘Freezers of Corpses and Sea Burials:’ The Liverpool Gravediggers’ Strike 6. Unseemly Behaviour: Women and Local Authority Strikes 7. ‘Celia’s Gate’ and Strikes in the National Health Service 8. Crosscurrents of Memory: Myth, Memory, and Counter-Memory 9. Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis history of the anarcho-syndicalist trade union, the Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo, analyses a period much neglected in historical research: from the end of the civil war in 1939 to the period of democratic change from 1976 to 1979, when the organisation was reconstructed after Francos death. The Franco years were characterised by extraordinary division within the CNT and by the bureaucratisation and ossification of the organisation now part in exile in France. The decimation of the Spanish CNT in 1947 by draconian repression enhanced the role of the exiled CNT, which was now the sole representative of the historic Anarchist movement in Spain. The moribund notion of Anarchism held by the exiled organisation could not attract recruits, and thus new forces drawn to Anarchism in 1960s Spain came through different routes, related, in large part, to the crisis within Marxism. Some of these local activists became convinced of the possibility for a reconstructed CNT, but only if the organisation were renewed. However, the exiled CNT opposed such ideas and used all possible means to undermine the movement for a new CNT. Although the reconstruction of the CNT from 1976 was characterised by the struggle between these two principal forces, the Spanish CNT captured the feelings and enthusiasm of Spanish youth, after the long dark night of Francoism. The libertarian boom was short-lived however, and by 1978 the CNT was in deep crisis, calling for the dissolution of the exiled organisation. The latter, and its allies in Spain, could not allow such a development and organised the Congress of 1979 to prevent this happening. The subsequent irrevocable division of the CNT sheds lights on the political, social and economic fractures that Spain still experiences today. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE

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Book SynopsisThis Elgar Introduction provides an overview of some of the key theories that inform human resource management and employment relations as a field of study. Leading scholars in the field explore theories in the context of contemporary debates concerning policies that affect and regulate work and the management of employment, as well as the activities and experiences of actors within the employment relationship. The book is divided into three sections to capture different theoretical lenses used to reflect on HRM and ER concerns about work: systems and historical development; institutions; and people and processes. Expert contributors have drawn on extensive research experience to present a contemporary understanding of a range of theories, how they evolved, and how they might be used in the future. Essential reading for HRM, ER and management scholars and research students, this book challenges readers to reassess their thinking about the significance of theory in research and practice.Trade Review‘Bringing together a diverse set of authors of distinguished pedigree, this collection provides an authoritative survey of theories of the employment relationship. Classical theories of work and employment are fully represented, with excellent chapters on Marxism, pluralism, feminism, human relations, labour process and systems theory, but so too are newer theoretical currents, many of which have their point of origin in the broader field of management studies. There are strong chapters on trust, role theory, evolution, paradox, social exchange, RBV and AMO: bodies of thought that are generating fresh understandings of employment and how it is managed. The collection as a whole is an invaluable resource for students, teachers and researchers; a broad-ranging and imaginative survey of how we think about work.’ -- Edmund Heery, Cardiff University, UK‘What is wonderful about this book is that in one place you can find all the prominent theories of HR and employment relations. The individual chapters are outstanding, which is what I would have expected from a stellar editorial team and first-rate contributors. A must-read for anybody interested in human resource management.’ -- Sir Cary Cooper, CBE, University of Manchester, UKTable of ContentsContents: 1. Theories used in Employment Relations and Human Resource Management Keith Townsend, Aoife M. McDermott, Kenneth Cafferkey and Tony Dundon 2. Marxism at Work Roger Seifert 3. Neo-Pluralism in contemporary employment relations and HRM: the case for workplace and academic dialogue Peter Ackers 4. Applying Scientific Management to Modern HRM and ER Niall Cullinane and Jean Cushen 5. Cracking Labour Process theory in employment relations and HRM Shiona Chillas and Alina Baluch 6. The legacy of the Human Relations School: Looking back and moving forward Sarah Jenkins 7. The theory of high-performance work systems Peter Boxall and Meng-Long Huo 8. Systems Theory: Forgotten Legacy and Future Prospects Brian Harney 9. Evolutionary psychological theory and human resource management Andrew Timming 10. Personnel Economics: Managing Human Resources through Performance-related Pay Victoria Wass 11. Advances in Labour Regulation Theory Peter Waring and Mark Bray 12. Institutional Theory, Business Systems and Employment Relations Geoffrey Wood and Matthew Allen 13. Varieties of Capitalism Glenn Morgan and Heike Doering 14. Human Resource Management and Paradox Theory Anne Keegan, Julia Brandl and Ina Aust 15. Revisiting Human Capital Theory: Progress and Prospects Jonathan Winterton and Kenneth Cafferkey 16. Feminist Theory and Employment Relations Anne-Marie Greene 17. Trust, Distrust And Human Resource Management Neve Iseava, Colin Hughes and Mark Saunders 18. Social Exchange Theory, Employment Relations and Human Resource Management Christine Cross and Tony Dundon 19. Using Role Theory to Understand and Solve Employment Relations and Human Resources Problems Qian Yi Lee, Keith Townsend, Ashlea Troth and Rebecca Loudoun 20. Fairness in the workplace: Organisational justice and the employment relationship Melinda Laundon, Paula McDonald and Abby Cathcart 21. Ability, Motivation, and Opportunity Theory: A formula for employee performance? Ashlea Kellner, Kenneth Cafferkey and Keith Townsend 22. The Resource-Based View Approach and HRM Keith Whitfield 23. LMX and HRM: A multi-level review of how LMX is used to explain employment relationships Anna Bos-Nehles and Mieke Audenaert 24. Social Mobilisation Theory in HR and employment relations Lorraine Ryan, Caroline Murphy and Daniel Troy Index

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Book SynopsisThis is volume 1 of six accessible volumes covering UNITE’s history from 1880-2010. The history of the TGWU is the core of this collection, with a significant emphasis on the union’s regions, as well as several key themes, such as equality, internationalism, the wider labour movement, and its attitude to the conflict between capital and labour. This first volume (1880-1931) covers the formation of the TGWU. It was rooted in an era in which, starting in the 1880’s, a mass trade union movement was formed. The drive to amalgamate the unions was spearheaded by Ernest Bevin and resulted in the creation of the TGWU, 1920-22 - a period which witnessed an intensification of pre and post WW1 militancy. Such militancy continued, albeit unevenly until 1926 and was met with resistance from employers and the State culminating in the mighty confrontation of the General Strike. Politically the union had a close relationship with the Labour Party and its two minority Governments (1923-4 and 1929-31). The defeat of 1926 marked a watershed in British labour history in which, again, the TGWU played a key role. Trade union militancy was succeeded by an attempt at negotiated accommodation with the employers, known as ‘Mondism’. Bevin was central to this development.Trade Review‘The book takes you on a long, passionate, and moving political journey depicting the growth and power of the trade union movement. It winds its way through the years of trauma, hardship, and poverty of the working classes, defining in great detail how they evolved, particularly during the war years and the economic crash of the 1930s. It includes the rise in women’s rights and the fluctuating influences unions had on the working classes and still have to this day… Anyone would be proud to own this book and it would feel at home on the shelves of universities, colleges, and schools all over the United Kingdom.’ Diane Hoyles, Labour History ReviewTable of ContentsSECTION 1: ORIGINS & FORMATION 1880-1924Chapter 1: Setting the scene 1880-1920Chapter 2: Creating the TGWU 1920-22Chapter 3: The TGWU & the Labour Movement 1922 -24SECTION 2: FROM CHALLENGE TO COLLABORATION 1925-28Chapter 4: Preparations for the General Strike 1925-26 Chapter 5: The General Strike 1926Chapter 6: Co-operation & Incorporation 1926-27Chapter 7: ‘Mondism’: Talking to Big Business 1927-28SECTION 3: RESCUING LABOUR 1929-31Chapter 8: Running the Union in difficult times: too close to employers?Chapter 9: The TGWU, Bevin and the Economic CrisisChapter 10: Labour Rescued

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Book SynopsisThis is the final book in a series of volumes on the history of the Transport & General Workers’ Union (T&G). After the neo-liberal assault on the unions and working people more generally carried through by Margaret Thatcher and John Major in the 1980s and 1990s, the unions, including the T&G, were faced with making some tough decisions about their future. The T&G initially turned to restructuring and engaged US management consultants to make recommendations about how the union should be moulded to fit the fast approaching new millennium. In other parts of the world at this time, particularly in the US and Australia, forward thinking unions were realising that the way out of the crisis was to switch from what was called the servicing model, where the union did things for its members, to an organising model, where the union did things with its members, and early in the millennium, the political and industrial logic of forming a large general workers’ union became more and more apparent. This fascinating volume looks at this history of the T&G, and considers how a three way union merger eventually became a reality with the merger of the T&G and Amicus to form Unite.

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Book SynopsisThe fourteen years between 1960 and-1974 saw the trade union and labour movement transformed. In 1959 Labour had been beaten at the polls for the third successive time – with political commentators claiming that class politics in Britain were dead. By 1974 a mobilised trade union movement had forced a Conservative government from office, compelled the abandonment of its anti-trade union legislation, released imprisoned dockers from Pentonville prison and twice provided the miners with the solidarity required for victory. The climax in 1974 was Labour victory in the 1974 general election with a programme calling for an irreversible shift of wealth and power in favour of working people. This volume of the TGWU’s centenary history documents the role of Britain’s biggest union in this transformation. Two remarkable general secretaries, Frank Cousins and Jack Jones, provided leadership. However, it was the TGWU’s members who achieved it: the women and men in the factories, transport depots and docks, who forged the new class unity. The book records their voices. It brings together their struggles from Clydeside, Dublin and Belfast to Longbridge, Dagenham and Heathrow – and it does so with a wealth of new material revealing the tactics of government and employers and the complexity of the struggles for sex equality and against racial discrimination that helped cement the new class unity.Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements General Introduction Section 1 1960-66 1.Making Working People Bear the Burden 2. The Public Ownership of the Means of Production, Distribution and Exchange 3. Labour in Government – but not Power Section 2 1966-1970 4. Holding the TGWU to the Left 5. Defeating In Place of Strife Section 3 1970-74 6. Assembling the Forces for Victory 7. Working class unity 8. Victory and issues of trade union power

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Book SynopsisThis is the third volume on the history of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), covering the period 1945 to 1960, and starting with an extraordinary moment in its history. There were such high hopes with the election of Attlee’s Labour government, committed to a series of radical reforms, establishing the Welfare State and nationalising key sectors of the economy. These reforms seemed to offer unique opportunities to move forwards towards what Nye Bevan, the main architect of the NHS, saw as a ‘new world both at home and abroad’. Or did it? This volume explores the challenges as well as the opportunities for radical reform, as these played out between 1945 and 1960. There was renewed industrial unrest, with disputes in the docks and transport industries, despite the best efforts of the Labour Government to contain them. Much remained to be achieved in terms of equalities, and there were challenges when it came to calls for international solidarity in the Cold War context. But still, there had been major developments in terms of trade union education. The T&G had become a much more democratic organisation, and, overall, was a more powerful, progressive force by the end of this period. This volume explores issues with continuing relevance for the trade union and labour movement.Table of ContentsChapter one: Post-war opportunities and challenges Chapter two: Class struggles in the T&G from 1945 to 1960 Chapter three: International solidarity – or not? Chapter four: Struggles for equalities Chapter five: Using education to build the union, 1945-1960 Chapter six: Debates on democracy and alternative futures

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Book SynopsisThis volume traces the history of the TGWU from its zenith in the period of the Labour Government to its nadir in 1992. It easily divides itself into two distinct periods. The first from 1974-79 saw a reforming Labour government which, recognising trade union strength, was determined to ‘bring about a fundamental and irreversible shift in the balance of power and wealth in favour of working people’. It marked the zenith of the TGWU in which the union played an important role, overseeing the repeal of anti-union Industrial Relation Act, and the enactment of a raft of pro-worker legislation. But this was insufficient to sustain the 'Social Contract' between the Labour Government and the Trade Unions– leading to the ‘Winter of Discontent’ and the Tory election victory of 1979. The second period, 1979-92, witnessed the nadir of the TGWU. A right wing Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher, was determined to reverse all the gains of preceding Labour administrations. Anti-union legislation and the cruel tool of unemployment created the economic and political conditions to decimate trade unions. Defensive struggles could not stop the defeats suffered by car workers, miners, printers and dockers. Trade union membership declined in the Thatcher years, leading to a bleak period of industrial defeat and union retrenchment, characterised by mergers and reorganisation - mitigated only by positive moves to tackle endemic racism and sexism in an attempt to involve previously disregarded women and black workers.

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Book SynopsisThis engaging and timely book provides an in-depth analysis of work and labour relations within global platform capitalism with a specific focus on digital platforms that organise labour processes, known as labour platforms. Well-respected contributors thoroughly examine both online and offline platforms, their distinct differences and the important roles they play for both large transnational companies and those with a smaller global reach. Chapters explore how labour platforms have become controversial and ambiguous as they increasingly appear to provide important sources of work and income globally but conversely raise concerns over exploitation of workers and the lack of legal protection provided to them. Offering a global perspective and including studies from different continents, the book covers three key areas: platform work in the wider context of contemporary capitalism, labour platforms from an international division of labour perspective, and labour processes and relations. This informative and thought-provoking book is an excellent resource for scholars with a particular interest in political economy, the sociology of work, labour relations and labour policies. Policymakers and regulators looking to understand how to effectively apply existing regulations for platform workers when creating new business models will also find this an invigorating read.Trade Review‘I highly recommend this book to those who have already stepped into the terrain of understanding the platform economy, those who are just taking that step, and those who have not yet begun but are willing to do so. Why? Because this is one of the few existing books that offers a rich, critical, fresh, and contemporary analysis of the platform economy embedded into capital and capitalism worldwide. It reveals what global platform capitalism entails by uncovering its internal social, economic, and political contradictions and tensions from a much-needed critical standpoint.’ -- Valeria Pulignano, ILR Review‘With this edited collection of insightful chapters, Julieta Haidar and Maarten Keune capture the essence of the “contradictions” and “tensions” surrounding the emergence of work and labor relations within the platform economy. This collection memorably illustrates how hegemonic capitalism generates “social order” by re-producing cleavages through establishing new socio-economic and political interdependencies on a global basis. This is a “must” for everyone who wants to learn about the platform economy.’ -- Valeria Pulignano, University of Leuven, Belgium‘In the 21st century we are witnessing what seems to be a paradox. On the one hand, we have an expansion of algorithms and artificial intelligence generating companies that are increasingly wealthy. On the other, there is a new growing portion of the working class who find themselves in an increasingly precarious position and without basic labour rights. How does exploitation in platform capitalism take place? What is new and what is old in these labour relations? How does managerial control occur? And how will the struggles and resistance of this new proletariat of the digital age develop? To better comprehend this complex social phenomenon, this book offers an important contribution.’ -- Ricardo Antunes, University of Campinas, BrazilTable of ContentsContents: Introduction to Work and Labour Relations in Global Platform Capitalism 1 Julieta Haidar and Maarten Keune PART I PLATFORM LABOUR IN CONTEMPORARY CAPITALISM 1 Value, rent and platform capitalism 29 Nick Srnicek 2 Platforms and exploitation in informational capitalism 46 Mariano Zukerfeld 3 Platform capitalism – towards the neo-commodification of labour? 69 Petar Marčeta PART II LABOUR PLATFORMS BETWEEN THE GLOBAL AND THE LOCAL 4 Working conditions, geography and gender in global crowdwork 93 Janine Berg and Uma Rani 5 Global earnings dispaities in remote platform work: liabilities of origin? 111 Vili Lehdonvirta, Isis Hjorth, Helena Barnard and Mark Graham 6 Freelancing globally: upworkers in China and India, neo-liberalisation and the new international putting-out system of labour (NIPL) 133 Wing-Fai Leung, Premilla D’Cruz and Ernesto Noronha PART III LABOUR PROCESS AND LABOUR RELATIONS IN PLATFORM CAPITALISM 7 Digitalized management, control and resistance in platform work: a labour process analysis 157 Simon Joyce and Mark Stuart 8 Collective organization in platform companies in Argentina: between labour union traditions and adaptive strategies 184 Cora Arias, Nicolás Diana Menéndez and Julieta Haidar 9 Collective resistance and organizational creativity amongst Europe’s platform workers: a new power in the labour movement? 205 Kurt Vandaele 10 Digital platform work in Latin America: challenges and perspectives for its regulation 235 Graciela Bensusán and Héctor Santos Index

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Book SynopsisOrganizing Matters demonstrates the interplay between two distinct logics of labour's collective action: on the one hand, workers coming together, usually at their place of work, entrusting the union to represent their interests and, on the other hand, social bargaining in which the trade union constructs labour's interests from the top down. The book investigates the tensions and potential complementarities between the two logics through the combination of a strong theoretical framework and an extensive qualitative case study of trade union organizing and recruitment in four countries - Austria, Germany, Israel and the Netherlands. These countries still utilize social-wide bargaining but find it necessary to draw and develop strategies transposed from Anglo-American countries in response to continuously declining membership. Trade unionists and scholars will find this a compelling story of organizing, narrated in the voice of organizers, trade union officials and local observers. This is a source for reflection on the daily hardship and strategic goals of organizing. Theorists will be able to utilize the two logics for explaining ongoing challenges for trade unions' revitalization worldwide.Trade Review'Labour unions worldwide have had decades to experiment with different revitalization strategies to combat declining membership and political influence. In Organizing Matters, Guy Mundlak provides a uniquely comprehensive and engaging analysis of how these experiments have played out in four countries where unions are experiencing a growing gap between collective agreement coverage (high or stable) and union membership (low or declining). He draws on examples of organizing campaigns, rich with detail and quotes, to show the tensions unions in these countries experience when they seek to mobilize and recruit members at enterprise level - as well as the potential for these strategies to complement traditional forms of 'social bargaining' at sector or national level. The book's findings give grounds for cautious hope that trade unions are forging new hybrid strategies that use workplace organizing to both strengthen employee voice and mobilize institutional power.' --Virginia Doellgast, Cornell University, USTable of ContentsContents: Introduction: A Theory of Two Logics, A Study of Four Countries 1. The Two Logics of Labour's Association 2. Hybrid industrial relations systems: between Ghent and sliced up bargaining units 3. Four hybrid industrial relations systems – converging challenges, divergent institutions 4. Declining membership and a rising legitimacy gap 5. Membership-based strategies - organizing and recruitment 6. Between two logics - strains of organizing when membership counts 7. Between two logics - bridging practices as a path towards revitalization Postscript: The two logics and membership counts References Index

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Book SynopsisThis history of the anarcho-syndicalist trade union, the Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo, analyses a period much neglected in historical research: from the end of the civil war in 1939 to the period of democratic change from 1976 to 1979, when the organisation was reconstructed after Francos death. The Franco years were characterised by extraordinary division within the CNT and by the bureaucratisation and ossification of the organisation now part in exile in France. The decimation of the Spanish CNT in 1947 by draconian repression enhanced the role of the exiled CNT, which was now the sole representative of the historic Anarchist movement in Spain. The moribund notion of Anarchism held by the exiled organisation could not attract recruits, and thus new forces drawn to Anarchism in 1960s Spain came through different routes, related, in large part, to the crisis within Marxism. Some of these local activists became convinced of the possibility for a reconstructed CNT, but only if the organisation were renewed. However, the exiled CNT opposed such ideas and used all possible means to undermine the movement for a new CNT. Although the reconstruction of the CNT from 1976 was characterised by the struggle between these two principal forces, the Spanish CNT captured the feelings and enthusiasm of Spanish youth, after the long dark night of Francoism. The libertarian boom was short-lived however, and by 1978 the CNT was in deep crisis, calling for the dissolution of the exiled organisation. The latter, and its allies in Spain, could not allow such a development and organised the Congress of 1979 to prevent this happening. The subsequent irrevocable division of the CNT sheds lights on the political, social and economic fractures that Spain still experiences today. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“In this most significant contemporary study of Indonesian trade unions and the broader working class, Max Lane provides a concise and informed examination of the practical and ideological challenges of incipient labour organizations engaged in political and popular struggles in an underdeveloped nation. This detailed and highly informative book evokes similar historical and comparative struggles of exploited workers worldwide and is indispensable for students of labour movements in the Global South.” - Immanuel Ness, Professor of Political Science, City University of New York, author of Southern Insurgency: The Coming of the Global Working Class“Given the potential importance of Indonesian trade unions and labour politics, and the shortage of general analyses of the complicated issues and conflicts, as well as the myriad of groups, this historical overview of the radical efforts in particular is most welcome and useful. Unavoidably, there is a focus on certain issues and explanatory factors. But one does not have to agree on all of them to benefit from Lane’s insightful accounts and analyses.” - Olle Törnquist, Professor of Political Science and Development Research, University of Oslo“It is impossible to understand the dynamics of trade union politics in Indonesia without an appreciation of the historical legacies of the New Order and its authoritarian controls over labour as well as the labour radicalism that emerged as a reaction to it. In this important study, Max Lane provides a sharp and detailed analysis of the impact of both legacies upon contemporary trade unions, the ongoing tensions between them, and possible future trajectories.” - Ian Wilson, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University

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Book SynopsisThe Global South is the epicentre of workers’ struggles todayTrade Review'In these depressing times, when the neoliberal consensus has acquired an aura of inevitability akin to the Laws of Physics, it is a breath of fresh air to read serious scholarship that challenges this consensus' -- Norman Finkelstein'The rising anti-imperialist struggles in both the underdeveloped and developed countries are signalling the resurgence of the world proletarian-socialist revolution. Immanuel Ness makes a just call for forging a global workers' movement by reinvigorating and further developing the trade union movement, the workers' parties and political movements to fight for the rights and interests of the working class and the rest of the suffering people' -- Professor Jose Maria Sison, Chairperson Emeritus of the International League of Peoples' Struggle, Founding Chairman, Communist Party of the Philippines and Co-Founder of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines'Important' -- Richard Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst'Timely and relevant. The theoretical framing around political organisation of the working class for social transformation is much-needed. Its energetic, provocative scholarship with insightful case studies from across the South makes it essential reading for academics and activists alike' -- Anita Hammer, Senior Lecturer of Organisational Studies and Human Resources, University of Essex'A valuable book that addresses the necessity of revolutionary organization in times of socialist ideological resurgence. Essential reading to anyone wishing to understand the proletarianization of the Global South. Its in-depth examination of modern forms of imperialist exploitation and revolts contribute to comprehending areas rarely covered by mainstream social science' -- Ali Kadri, National University of Singapore'A rich combination of theoretical insights and valuable case-studies from the Global South - a much-needed reminder that the agenda of social transformation requires a strong and sustained political intervention to turn protests into a powerful movement' -- Prabhat Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University'Challenges the prevailing racializing perception of the Southern worker held in the North as powerless and without agency. 'Organizing Insurgency' is a must read for an understanding of imperialism, which has normalized a lack of awareness of the sustaining role of the southern agricultural and industrial workers in global capitalism' -- Himani Bannerji, York UniversityTable of ContentsList of Figures and Tables List of Abbreviations Series Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: Forging a New Global Workers’ Movement 1 PART I - THEORIES AND CONCEPTS OF LABOUR IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH 1. The Labour Atlas: The Southern Working Class Holding Up the World 2. Workers’ Movements in the South: Inequality, Poverty, and Enduring Relevance of Rural Proletariat and Informal Sector Workers PART II - CASE STUDIES: RURAL AND INFORMAL LABOUR STRUGGLES 3. Primitive Steel Manufacturing for the Global Consumer Market: Capital, Super-exploitation, and Surplus Value in Wazirpur, India 4. The Enduring System of Global Agricultural Commodity Production and First World Commodity Extraction: The Case of Mindanao, the Philippines 5. Global Capitalism: Corporate Restructuring, Labour Brokering, and Working-class Mobilization in South Africa 6. Conclusion: Labour Struggles and Political Organization Notes Index

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2021 Midland Authors Book Award in HistoryIn a time of great inequality and a gutted middle class, the dramatic story of “the strike heard around the world” is a testament to what workers can gain when they stand up for their rights.The tumultuous Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 was the birth of the United Auto Workers, which set the standard for wages in every industry. Midnight in Vehicle City tells the gripping story of how workers defeated General Motors, the largest industrial corporation in the world. Their victory ushered in the golden age of the American middle class and created a new kind of America, one in which every worker had a right to a share of the company’s wealth. The causes for which the strikers sat down—collective bargaining, secure retirement, better wages—enjoyed a half century of success. But now, the middle class is disappearing and economic inequality is at its highest since before th

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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