Description
Book SynopsisThe labor movement sees coalitions as a key tool for union revitalization and social change, but there is little analysis of what makes them successful or the factors that make them fail. Amanda Tattersallan organizer and labor scholaraddresses this gap in the first internationally comparative study of coalitions between unions and community organizations.
Tattersall argues that coalition success must be measured by two criteria: whether campaigns produce social change and whether they sustain organizational strength over time. The book contributes new, practical frameworks and insights that will help guide union and community organizers across the globe. The book throws down the gauntlet to industrial relations scholars and labor organizers, making a compelling case for unions to build coalitions that wield power with community organizations.
The book centers on three detailed case studies: the public education coalition in Sydney, the Ontario Health Coalition in Toront
Trade Review
Amanda Tattersall has done a terrific job of capturing and analyzing the power of 'positive-sum' coalitions, illustrating how these can effect social change in society as we as internally reinvent the member organizations. Power in Coalition provides both the academic and the activists with analytical devices for understanding the opportunities and challenges of coalitions, expanding the notion of coalition success, and clearly distinguishing three fundamental coalition elements: common concern, organizational relationships, and scale. This is a must read for scholars and practitioners in the fields of social movements, labor relations, and geography.
-- Maite Tapia * Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal *
Tattersall's interest in going beyond bemoaning unions’ decline, on the one hand, and celebrating extraordinary success stories, on the other, ought to spur further comparative analysis on the same themes. In particular, it should spark useful discussions among union activists at a time when the public is increasingly unfamiliar with the labor movement’s historic role and demands more inclusive goals from the movement—and when unions are in sore need of allies.
-- Manfred Elfstrom * ILRReview *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. The Elements of Coalition Unionism
2. The Public Education Coalition in New South Wales
3. Living Wages and the Grassroots Collaborative in Chicago
4. The Ontario Health Coalition
5. Power in Coalition
Conclusion: The Possibilities of Successful Coalitions
References
Index
