Rate this book

Solidarity Divided: The Crisis In Organized Labor And A New Path Toward Social Justice (2008)

by Bill Fletcher Jr.(Favorite Author)

3.94 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

UC Press

review 1: A rough review: Good for background history on alot of the recent splits and fissure in the recent labor movement as well as some interesting political analysis. But the book overall has some problematic analysis for anyone who wants to approach the labor movement from a radical perspective. First, while the begining history is good on race and class formation in the US that most labor history tends to side step, his presentation of the history of the labor movement and the left is presented in a way that essentially writes out more radical moments and efforts such as the Haymarket era, the radicalism of the WFM, the IWW. According to him, the history of the labor movement is the history of the AFL-CIO. But I would argue that much of the most interesting history of the lab... moreor movement in the US can be found outside of rather than inside the AFL. Next is his perspectives on some of the more recent conflicts, while making a fair effort to present multiple viewpoints, largely reflects Fletchers vantage point as a high level member of the AFL-CIO bureacracy- which is interesting to hear but prevents a more critical perspective. Finally, the solutions he raises to reinvigorate the labor movement, such as revitalizing local labor councils and pointing to the LAMAP effort, seem fairly mild and given numerous examples of the bureacratic, incompetent, conservative, and anti-class struggle charactor that permeates the ALF-CIO, do not seem to present much of an alternative vision for labor.
review 2: Z-Net Interview with the AuthorCan you tell ZNet, please, what Solidarity Divided is about? What is it trying to communicate?"Solidarity Divided" is an attempt to provide a framework for activists who, in looking at the US trade union movement, are trying to figure out the origin and nature of the current crisis. It is NOT an attempt to examine every question relative to the development of the US working class, nor is it an exhaustive examination of each reform effort. It is particularly focused on efforts that began around 1995 with the coming to power of the John Sweeney administration in the AFL-CIO.The book additionally attempts to situate the current crisis within the context of the failures of a certain approach to unionism that is grounded in the thought and practice of Samuel Gompers, later amended with virulent anti-communism.Can you tell ZNet something about writing the book? Where does the content come from? What went into making the book what it is?The book is a joint project between me--Bill Fletcher, Jr.--and Fernando Gapasin. Both of us have extensive experience in organized labor, holding various positions, inside and outside the formal structure. Fernando and I tried drawing upon our experiences but we also examined the record of efforts, particularly beginning with the Sweeney run for the AFL-CIO Presidency, to alter the path of organized labor. Fernando and I took different chapters to focus upon.What are your hopes for the book? What do you hope it will contribute or achieve politically? Given the effort and aspirations you have for the book, what will you deem to be a success? What would leave you happy about the whole undertaking? What would leave you wondering if it was worth all the time and effort?We are hoping that the book provokes a wide-ranging discussion and genuine debate concerning the future of the working class both here in the USA and globally. We would be excited if, for instance, the Resolution that was submitted to the AFL-CIO Convention in 2005 (see Appendix A of the book) was discussed within the movement and became an action item that unions, central labor councils, state federations of labor and the national AFL-CIO took up. We would hope that independent organizations, such as the emerging worker centers, would use the book to help think through how they can influence organized labor, but also think through their own strategies toward the birth of a new labor movement in the USA.In all of this we are up against those who would wish to suppress debate and are more comfortable with sound-bites and rhetoric. Nevertheless, the initial responses we have received have been very positive and insofar as a debate is advanced, we will be very pleased. less

Download links for: Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice

Advertising