Description
Book SynopsisA detailed account of labor corruption in the 1930s and the zealous journalist who railed against it
Trade ReviewWinner of Labor History's Prize for the best book on labor history, 2010.
"An engaging and illuminating work on a crucial episode in the development of the image of organized labor in the U.S."--EH.Net
"Through creative use of FBI and court records, Witwer carefully peels open the intricate layers of several high profile labor scandals that Westbrook Pegler exposed in the World War II era, exploring how organized crime came to control two important unions. Well conceived and judiciously argued."--Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, author of
Waves of Opposition: Labor and the Struggle for Democratic Radio"David Witwer is a remarkably energetic and insightful historian, and his study of Westbrook Pegler and the role he played in the construction of a New Deal era discourse of corruption and racketeering within the house of labor is an extremely provocative and path-breaking book."--Nelson Lichtenstein, author of
State of the Union: A Century of American LaborTable of ContentsAcknowledgments vi
Introduction: "Peglerized" 1
1. The Columnist: A Crusading Jouranlist 15
2. The Outfit: Organized Crime and Labor Racketeering 37
3. Browne, Bioff, and Scalise: The Dynamics of Union Corruption 59
4. The Hollywood Case: Racketeering in the 1930s from a Business Perspective 83
5. Union Members and Corruption: Exploitation and Disillusionment 103
6. Union Members and Corruption: The Potential for Reform 119
7. The Newsmen: "Molders of Public Opinion" 147
8. The Scandal's Political Impact: Pegler and Antiunionism 175
9. "Labor Must Clean House": The Challenge of Responding to Pegler 205
Conclusion: Opportunities Lost and Opportunities Taken 233
Notes 255
Index 319
