Description
Book SynopsisOrganizing the "unorganizable"
Trade Review"Lisa Phillips has written a first-rate account exploring the history of District 65 (originally Wholesale and Dry Good Workers, or WDGW). From the union's early days during the Depression in the 1930s, District 65 sought to navigate the complexities of American politics and provide a voice for low wage workers. Activists and students of labor history and politics should definitely read this book!"--
American Historical Review"An interesting case study of Local 65 in New York from the Depression years through the 1960s. This 'renegade union' attempted to organize and improve the lives of low-wage workers (often African American and Jewish men and women). The book is meticulously researched, offers a unique case study, and is very well worth a close reading."--
The Historian"
A Renegade Union presents a much needed perspective on an array of topics that have received scant attention by scholars. With great flair and insightful details Philips places the history of District 65 and several other radical unions at the center of this analysis of the Civil Right Movement. . . . lucidly written and path-breaking. . . . Phillips makes a valuable contribution to the growing literature on labor organizing, civil rights campaigns, and community activism."--
The Journal of African American History"The book is meticulously researched, offers a unique case study, and is very well worth a close reading."--
The Historian"Phillips has presented a crucial study on how left-wing unionism not only survived the Cold War but also rebuilt momentum during the 1960s and 1970s to maintain their relevance in an increasingly hostile economic environment."--
The Journal of American History"
A Renegade Union deepens our understanding of how left-led unions in the mid-twentieth century distinguished themselves from other unions, and helps us see the possibilities for social movement unionism. Lisa Phillips's well-told story of District 65 will be welcomed by labor historians, civil rights scholars, labor activists, and interested general readers."--Rosemary Feurer, author of
Radical Unionism in the Midwest, 1900–1950Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix
List of Acronyms xiii
Introduction 1
1. Community-Based, "Catch-All" Organizing on New York's Lower East Side 15
2. Getting beyond Racial, Ethnic, Religious, and Skill-Based Divisions 42
3. "Like a Scab over an Infected Sore": Full and Fair Employment during and after World War II 66
4. Attached from the Right and the Left: Community-Organizing, Civic Unionism during the Early Years of the Cold War 91
5. A Third Labor Federation? The Distributive, Processing, and Office Workers of America (DPO) 114
6. Community Organizing under the AFL-CIO Umbrella 137
Conclusion 167
Abbreviated Chronology 187
Notes 189
Index 221
