Steel and Steelworkers: Race and Class Struggle in Twentieth-Century Pittsburgh (Suny Series in American Labor History)
Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • Rich, useful and by itself
  • Another disappointment
Steel and Steelworkers: Race and Class Struggle in Twentieth-Century Pittsburgh (Suny Series in American Labor History)
John H. Hinshaw
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

WorkplaceWorkplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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OhioOhio | State & Local | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0791452263

Book Description

Breaks new ground in the study of an industry and region crucial to the history of American industrial capitalism.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Rich, useful and by itself.......2006-10-20

I found this book an excellect study, a new interpretation that brings more clarity to the post-World War II urban industrial experience for Pittsburgh's African Americans. It brings new material to bear compared to Dickerson's Out of this Crucible from an earlier generation. It's not easy getting a full picture of the African American work world as an urban industrial economy is in precipitous decline. Hinshaw's study is a an excellent first crack at this subject. I've assigned this study several times to my students and it has gone over very well.

1 out of 5 stars Another disappointment.......2004-12-24

I decided to read this book over the summer in an attempt to give John Hinshaw's writing/editing another chance to impress me. The end result? Another disappointment. His writing displayed a tremendous lack of clarity, and I also question his judgment in his use of words and phrases to describe his topic - steel and steelworkers. His style, lack of transitions, and disregard for basic writing rules surprise me for a professor with his credentials. I suggest he read a "Student's Guide for Writing History Papers" and use it to help improve his writing and research techniques.
When the Mines Closed: Stories of Struggles in Hard Times
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Accurate View of Life in the Coal Regions
  • Colorful reflections from the dark world of coal
When the Mines Closed: Stories of Struggles in Hard Times
Thomas Dublin
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. The Face of Decline: The Pennsylvania Anthracite Region in the Twentieth Century The Face of Decline: The Pennsylvania Anthracite Region in the Twentieth Century
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ASIN: 0801484677

Book Description

The anthracite region of northeastern Pennsylvania, five hundred square miles of rugged hills stretching between Tower City and Carbondale, harbored coal deposits that once heated virtually all the homes and businesses in Eastern cities. At its peak during World War I, the coal industry here employed 170,000 miners, and supported almost 1,000,000 people. Today, with coal workers numbering 1,500, only 5,000 people depend on the industry for their livelihood. Between these two points in time lies a story of industrial decline, of working people facing incremental and cataclysmic changes in their world. When the Mines Closed tells this story in the words of men and women who experienced these dramatic changes and in more than eighty photographs of these individuals, their families, and the larger community.

Award-winning historian Thomas Dublin interviewed a cross-section of residents and migrants from the region, who gave their own accounts of their work and family lives before and after the mines closed. Most of the narrators, six men and seven women, came of age during the Great Depression and entered area mines or, in the case of the women, garment factories, in their teens. They describe the difficult choices they faced, and the long-standing ethnic, working-class values and traditions they drew upon, when after World War II the mines began to shut down. Some left the region, others commuted to work at a distance, still others struggled to find employment locally.

The photographs taken by George Harvan, a lifelong resident of the area and the son of a Slovak-born coal miner, document residents' lives over the course of fifty years. Dublin's introductory essay offers a brief history of anthracite mining and the region and establishes a broader interpretive framework for the narratives and photographs.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Accurate View of Life in the Coal Regions.......2000-02-08

Most of us don't have books written about the neighborhoods and local institutions that we grew up with. This is particularly so for places off the beaten path like the Pennsylvania coal regions. I grew up in the 50's and early 60's just a few miles from the coal towns that form the geography of Mr. Dublin's book and went to some of the same schools as his narrator's children. My family worked for the coal companies and the garment factories at various times. These stories ring true from my experience - the reliance on family, the acceptance of 50 mile commutes to work rather than leave the area, the accurate concern that everyone for miles around knows your family business. The real value of this book for me is that these narratives show the commonality of experiences that I thought were unique. And, it also fills in many gaps about the social forces at work that I didn't realize existed in the lives of that generation. They shielded us from the dangereous aspects of some jobs, the lack of job security, labor-management tensions, and the potential need to migrate to make a living. For those readers without the personal ties to the coal regions this book provides a view of how tough the "golden years" of the 50's were for some Americans.

4 out of 5 stars Colorful reflections from the dark world of coal.......1999-09-08

The beauty of this book lies in the fact that it does not attempt to analyze or comment upon. It simply presents the stories of ordinary men and women of this century in more or less their own words. All their lives in some way revolved around the dark world of Pennsylvania coal mining in the anthracite area of the Panther Valley. They are all refreshingly human, wonderfully straightforward, and tell deeply moving stories. Each in his or her own way reflects the rich cultural and ethical traditions brought here from European shores. The beauty of the book is its utter simplicity in approaching the mystery of the human personality against the backdrop of the drudgery of labor. It's a wonderful slice of life.
Bread and Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Labor Movement Literature
  • the hobo philosopher
  • History Lesson
  • Where's the movie?
  • A Moving Story, Wonderfully Documented
Bread and Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream
Bruce Watson
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143037358

Book Description

Told here for the first time, the riveting story of the most remarkable strike in American history

On January 12, 1912, an army of textile workers stormed out of the mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, commencing what has since become known as the “Bread and Roses” strike. Based on newspaper accounts, magazine reportage, and oral histories, Watson reconstructs a Dickensian drama involving thousands of parading strikers from fifty-one nations, unforgettable acts of cruelty, and even a protracted murder trial that tested the boundaries of free speech. A rousing look at a seminal and overlooked chapter of the past, Bread and Roses is indispensable reading.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Labor Movement Literature.......2007-10-18

I saw this reviewed on one of the public television shows. I read it, then passed it on to my Union to add to their library. Excellent work, very informative.

5 out of 5 stars the hobo philosopher.......2007-08-22

I was raised in Lawrence. My grandmother was a polish immigrant weaver at the Wood Mill and my grandfather was an Irish plant foreman at the Arlington Mills as was my father. I have been reading and researching Lawrence for some time. In fact in my book about growing up in Lawrence "A Summer with Charlie" now listed on Amazon, I include a short synopsis of the Strike of 1912. When I saw Mr. Watson's book advertised, I had to have it. He did an excellent job as did Mr. Moran on "The Belles of New England". If you really want some fun books about Lawrence get Images of America, Lawrence Massachusetts by Ken Skulski and friends. These are two volumes full of old pictures and descriptions of good old Lawrence. Whenever I get nostalgic and lonely for the old days and the good times I go over and start browsing through one of these volumes.
Bruce Watson's book is much the same - I loved walking with the strikers up and down all those familiar streets and learning about the history of my old hometown. This book should be a required reading at Lawrence High and Central Catholic, that's for sure.

5 out of 5 stars History Lesson.......2006-08-16

I grew up in Lawrence and had several members of my family work in the woolen mills....

Although the strike was not talked about, I was very aware of how hard the work was and how much sacrifice was made by each family.

Sadly, the history of the strike was not taught in our classrooms - I strongly believe that it is as relevant today..... I urge everyone to read this book and to take it to your heart. Bruce Watson did an extraordinary job presenting this story.

I always was and always will be proud to be a member of one of those hardworking immigrant families.....and continue to be proud to have been raised in Lawrence.

5 out of 5 stars Where's the movie? .......2006-06-07

This is a surprisingly exciting read. A 10 star book, at least. I can't imagine this history being told better although I don't know what others have written about this strike, other than a brief reference from the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). Watson captures the importance of the IWW to this strike but also shows the great problems that the IWW had in holding on to the strikers after the strike ended.

So much detail but it flows so well. Watson seems to largely let the details tell the story rather than editorialize. This is history with the emphasis on history and not salesmanship. This is effectively a "you are there" episode accomplished in text.

What motivated Bruce Watson to do such exceptional work? I suspect that, unlike the author of "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, And Got a Life", Bruce Watson did not get anything like a $500,000 advance for "Bread and Roses". We need more people like Bruce Watson. And more money directed to support them: so buy this book!

So much about U.S. History I'm ignorant of. That a Kansas Socialist newspaper was our most popular weekly. That the IWW, afer having so much success in Lawrence, would be nearly crushed by the federal government. That one young man of the IWW, Joseph Ettor, would have such a profound influence of the Lawrence strike but die largely forgotten. That so many women would play important roles in a strike at this time. That within a year of the 1912 strike, the Lawrence strikers would be in denial as the IWW membership in their city plummeted: but there was a lasting impact on the strike on wages and working conditions in other cities, afraid of what the IWW and people of Lawrence had done.

The strike went from just Jan 12, 1912 to March 14 of the same year. But so much happened that it is amazing Watson was able to present it all clearly.

Imagine that after holding to such a hard position in 1912, the mill owner William Wood, would, about seven years later give his employees insurance, maternity benefits, sick pay, help them buy homes, provide English lessons. Yet die by suicide within another decade after losing his children.

These are powerful facts powerfully presented. At a time when globalism is weakening labor in the U.S. and everywhere else in the world, it seems worthwhile to learn what people did. And don't forget what Bruce Watson has done, by bringing that event to life again.

5 out of 5 stars A Moving Story, Wonderfully Documented .......2006-03-21

What can I add to the laudatory reviews that have already appreared about this excellent work? Bruce Watson has done a masterful job of presenting this important (though often forgotten) episode in American history in a moving and engaging manner. This book should be welcomed by serious scholars and casual readers alike. Watson's style is intelligent and straightforward, but he is also a seasoned storyteller, who is able to open our eyes to the unmistakble human story behind these historical events. We never lose sight of the human faces on both sides of the strike lines here, for better or for worse. Watson's sympathies are obviously with the destitute and downtrodden workers of Lawrence. But his tone is never shrill or partisan, and his documentation is first rate-- thorough and meticulous almost to a fault (Do we really need ALL of these footnotes? Probably so.) We too often forget at what a high price our "American dream" was purchased. How much less prosperous and comfortable our lives would be had earlier generations not dared to stand up to the powers that be. Watson does a wonderful job of reminding us of the price that those who came before us have paid-- and of our need to continue their battle for justice in our own time.
Workers' Control in America: Studies in the History of Work, Technology, and Labor Struggles
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A Contemporary Classic
Workers' Control in America: Studies in the History of Work, Technology, and Labor Struggles
David Montgomery
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Labor & Industrial RelationsLabor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0521280060

Book Description

A collection of essays on workers' efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries to assert control over the processes of production in US. It describes the development of management techniques and includes discussions of various worker and union responses to unemployment.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Contemporary Classic.......2007-05-06

This is a wonderful book on the breakdown of workers control over both the shop floor and the production process in the United States. The story begins in the post-civil war era when skilled/craft produciton still held sway. Via the influence of craft unions (most notably Gompers' American Federation of Labor and its numerous national unions) workers in many industries (Montgomery focuses heavily on machinists here) were able to hold great influence over the production process. Due to their high level of skill, and knowledge of their craft - generated a kind of structural leverage - craft unions were able to develop "cooperative" relationship with captial. However, between the 1880s and the 1900s increasing capital competition led to an employer offensive on worker's influece of the production process as a means of reducing costs, gaining control over the workplace, and augmenting profits. Their main aim was then to take the knowledge of the produciton process that the workers possessed and rationalize it - that is break it down into simple units, deskilling the particular work of the given craft...and the story goes on.

This is a higly recommended piece of labor history, one that would be well read in addition to Harry Braverman's "Labor and Monopoly Capital."
Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • TRUTH HUURTS?
  • At the Sharp End
  • Imagining and working with the Other
  • Insight into the Other
  • Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women
Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity
Ella L. J. Edmondson Bell , and Stella M. Nkomo
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1578512778

Book Description

Prepare to change the way you see your colleagues-and yourself

In Our Separate Ways, authors Ella Bell and Stella Nkomo take an unflinching look at the surprising differences between black and white women's trials and triumphs on their way up the executive ladder. Based on groundbreaking research that spanned eight years, Our Separate Ways compares and contrasts the experiences of 120 black and white female managers in the American business arena. In-depth histories bring to life the women's powerful and often difficult journeys from childhood to professional success, highlighting the roles that gender, race, and class played in their development.

Although successful professional women come from widely diverse family backgrounds, educational experiences, and community values, they share a common assumption upon entering the workforce: "I have a chance." Along the way, however, they discover that people question their authority, challenge their intelligence, and discount their ideas. And while gender is a common denominator among these women, race and class are often wedges between them.

In Our Separate Ways, you will find candid discussions about stereotypes, learn how black women's early experiences affect their attitudes in the business world, become aware of how white women have-perhaps unwittingly-aligned themselves more often with white men than with black women, and see ways that our country continues to come to terms with diversity in all of its dimensions.

Whether you are a human resources director wondering why you're having trouble retaining black women, a white female manager considering the role of race in your office, or a black female manager searching for perspective, you will find fresh insights about how black and white women's struggles differ and encounter provocative ideas for creating a better workplace environment for everyone.

Ella L. J. Edmondson Bell is the Leon E. Williams Visiting Professor of Business Administration at the Tuck School of Business. Stella M. Nkomo is a Professor of Business Leadership at the University of South Africa Graduate School of Business Leadership.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars TRUTH HUURTS?.......2004-03-30

GOOD BOOK. BUT I HAVE NEVER HAD AN INTERRACIAL FRIENDSHIP WITH A WHITE AMERICAN WOMAN. MY FRIENDS WERE EITHER EUROPEAN, ASIAN, AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN, SOUTH AMERICAN, OR BLACK. IM NOT EVEN INTERESTED IN CLOSING THE GAP WE'VE HAD BETWEEN EACH OTHER SINCE SLAVERY. AND EVEN IF WHITE WOMEN AND BLACK WOMEN ARE FRIENDS IN CORPORATE AMERICA, BLACK WOMEN STILL GET PAID LESS. ITS UNFAIR AND I DONT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH SOMEONE WHO THINKS THE WORD WOMAN, FEMININE, OR LADY MEANS WHITE.

5 out of 5 stars At the Sharp End.......2004-02-04

Bell and Nkomo dive straight to the heart of the matter. They base their findings on comprehensive personal interviews of African-American and white women working as managers or executives. Ultimately, the authors hit the reader over the head with the obvious: People from strikingly different backgrounds bring profound personal differences to the workplace. Too often, organizations stupidly attempt homogenizing everyone into minor variations on the existing (typically---older, white, and male) leadership theme. Unusually (Bell and Nkomo cited no such cases), organizations may wisely embrace the differences so that the organization and its people benefit from a more perceptive and inclusive world view.

Folks who need not spend their working hours "fitting in" contribute (A) more (B) less to the organization. Leaders who accept their people for who and what they are get (A) more (B) less from their subordinates. Guess where the authors suggest the readers take their outfits.

4 out of 5 stars Imagining and working with the Other.......2003-09-23

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

4 out of 5 stars Insight into the Other.......2003-09-23

If you are wondering why the Black woman in your section of your company doesn't seem to want to socialize with you or seems guarded around her White co-workers or why the White women in your organization get all riled up about sexism but are silent when it comes to racism this is the book for you. I recommend this book along with Divided Sisters for those who really want Black and White women to unite in the workplace. These two tomes will give you more than a clue. They'll give you guidelines as how to build a truly "diverse" workplace where everyone is welcomed AS THEY ARE and not as stereotypes others want them to play out. If you are a Black woman, you'll understand why you see your work status merely as a "job" and not as a career and why you feel so much like an outsider looking in at your organization.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that I wanted more in-depth analysis of how the White female managers confronted the idea of Black women as equals (and not just on the job), something I've experienced that White women have a difficult time doing in the workplace.

5 out of 5 stars Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women.......2003-08-21

This book is a must for anyone who is interested in the career paths of women in the corporate world. That would include spouses of, grown children of, and parents of women. It is based upon Harvard research including in-depth case studies of both white and black women from childhood to the present day, career journeys one will find fascinating. When the reader returns to his/her workplace after completing this book, diversity will take on a more significant meaning. This book is also a useful tool in college career development classes. Rather than a dull read, it keeps the reader coming back for more.
The Unfinished Struggle
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Good concise history of labor movement
The Unfinished Struggle
Steve Babson
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

WorkplaceWorkplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0847688291

Book Description

The Unfinished Struggle is one of the most concise, comprehensive, and accessible histories of the modern American labor movement ever written. Labor scholar and activist Steve Babson's dramatic narrative examines the numerous attempts to organize workers from the Great Uprising of 1877 to the sitdown strikes of the 1930s to the present day. Babson illuminates the tumultuous past, evolving agenda, and continuing conflicts of the labor movement. He carefully identifies the causes of labor's decline in recent decades and explains union leaders' attempts to revive their organizations. Most important, Babson shows readers how the fortunes of organized labor are tied to larger trends in American history.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Good concise history of labor movement.......2000-09-21

The Unfinished Struggle, considering its brevity and the number of years that it covers, represents an adequate, even good, effort at describing the difficult, hazardous, uneven, and highly compromised journey of the labor movement since the Great Railroad Uprising of 1877.

Since the book is intended for those without thorough knowledge of the labor movement, a shortcoming of the book is the absence of any history of unions prior to 1877. How did they start? What was/is the social, economic, and political/legal context of unions? But the book is a window into the practicality and realities of unionism since 1877.

The author shows that other than for a brief thirty-year period the labor movement has mostly struggled for relevancy, even survival. It is not clear as to the degree of optimism that the author has regarding the completion of the struggle. As a practical matter, a reading of this book leaves little room for optimism.

In the absence of great detail, the author focuses on historical "turning points" as markers to indicate the standing and prospects of the labor movement. Among those selected for discussion were the Strike of 1877, the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912, WWI, the Steel Strike of 1919, the Great Depression, the Wagner Act of 1935, WWII, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, the PATCO Strike of 1981, and the change in the leadership of the AFL-CIO in the mid-90s. In addition the conflicts and contradictions within the labor movement are well assessed. Basically, the book is a very sobering account of the labor movement.

The author acknowledges the next to impossible task of writing a short history of the labor movement because of its complex past, but he has done a very credible and worthy job.
Migrant Labour in South Africa's Mining Economy: The Struggle for the Gold Mines Labour Supply, 1890-1920
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Migrant Labour in South Africa's Mining Economy: The Struggle for the Gold Mines Labour Supply, 1890-1920
    Alan Jeeves
    Manufacturer: McGill-Queen's University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    GeneralGeneral | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0773504206
    Identity and Struggle at the Margins of the Nation-State: The Laboring Peoples of Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean (Comparative and International Working-Class History)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Identity and Struggle at the Margins of the Nation-State: The Laboring Peoples of Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean (Comparative and International Working-Class History)

      Manufacturer: Duke University Press
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      4. The United States and Mexico (The United States in the World: Foreign Perspectives) The United States and Mexico (The United States in the World: Foreign Perspectives)
      5. Race And Ethnicity In Latin America (Latin American Studies) Race And Ethnicity In Latin America (Latin American Studies)

      ASIN: 0822322188

      Book Description

      Identity and Struggle at the Margins of the Nation-State brings together new research on the social history of Central America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Aviva Chomsky and Aldo A. Lauria Santiago have gathered both well-known and emerging scholars to demonstrate how the actions and ideas of rural workers, peasants, migrants, and women formed an integral part of the growth of the export economies of the era and to examine the underacknowledged impact such groups had on the shaping of national histories.
      Responding to the fact that the more common, elite-centered “national” histories distort or erase the importance of gender, race, ethnicity, popular consciousness, and identity, contributors to this volume correct this imbalance by moving these previously overlooked issues to the center of historical research and analysis. In so doing, they describe how these marginalized working peoples of the Hispanic Caribbean Basin managed to remain centered on not only class-based issues but on a sense of community, a desire for dignity, and a struggle for access to resources. Individual essays include discussions of plantation justice in Guatemala, highland Indians in Nicaragua, the effects of foreign corporations in Costa Rica, coffee production in El Salvador, banana workers in Honduras, sexuality and working-class feminism in Puerto Rico, the Cuban sugar industry, agrarian reform in the Dominican Republic, and finally, potential directions for future research and historiography on Central America and the Caribbean.
      This collection will have a wide audience among Caribbeanists and Central Americanists, as well as students of gender studies, and labor, social, Latin American, and agrarian history.

      Contributors. Patricia Alvarenga, Barry Carr, Julie A. Charlip, Aviva Chomsky, Dario Euraque, Eileen Findlay, Cindy Forster, Jeffrey L. Gould, Lowell Gudmundson, Aldo A. Lauria Santiago, Francisco Scarano, Richard Turits
      Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • Brotherhoods of Color: Removing the Silence
      Brotherhoods of Color: Black Railroad Workers and the Struggle for Equality
      Eric Arnesen
      Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      Similar Items:
      1. Marching Together: Women of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (Working Class in American History) Marching Together: Women of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (Working Class in American History)
      2. Pullman Porters and the Rise of  Protest Politics in Black America, 1925-1945 (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture) Pullman Porters and the Rise of Protest Politics in Black America, 1925-1945 (The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture)
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      ASIN: 0674008170

      Book Description

      From the time the first tracks were laid in the early nineteenth century, the railroad has occupied a crucial place in America's historical imagination. Now, for the first time, Eric Arnesen gives us an untold piece of that vital American institution--the story of African Americans on the railroad. African Americans have been a part of the railroad from its inception, but today they are largely remembered as Pullman porters and track layers. The real history is far richer, a tale of endless struggle, perseverance, and partial victory. In a sweeping narrative, Arnesen re-creates the heroic efforts by black locomotive firemen, brakemen, porters, dining car waiters, and redcaps to fight a pervasive system of racism and job discrimination fostered by their employers, white co-workers, and the unions that legally represented them even while barring them from membership. Decades before the rise of the modern civil rights movement in the mid-1950s, black railroaders forged their own brand of civil rights activism, organizing their own associations, challenging white trade unions, and pursuing legal redress through state and federal courts. In recapturing black railroaders' voices, aspirations, and challenges, Arnesen helps to recast the history of black protest and American labor in the twentieth century.

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars Brotherhoods of Color: Removing the Silence.......2001-08-05

      The Brotherhoods of Color written by Eric Arnesen is a well documented and historical account of African-American men and women attempts at obtaining social equality and opportunity while constructing and working working on in America's railroads. Arnesen masterfully provides dramactic details of Black railroad workers struggle to change a both the midset of the railroad industry, mangers, and their fellow white workers.

      While tempted, the Author limits his judgements and personal perferences about the legal outcomes of the countless legal proceedings to overcome racist practices and obstacles. Instead, he draws the reader into to public policy debates with open ended ideas and powerful suggestions. His analysis of the African-American experiences neither surprising or profound. However, the effort to provide a foundation of truths and facts is achieved.

      The reader will be enlightened by such candid facts and news reports from the African-American perspective, obtained from labor newspapers and journals. The Brotherhood of Color is an excellent read and a strong addition to the body of knowledge that is often too silent on the subject matter. The Brothhoods of Color is a Classic.
      Civil Rights Unionism: Tobacco Workers and the Struggle for Democracy in the Mid-Twentieth-Century South
      Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
      • Fascinating history, important analysis--read it!
      • Fabulous story, fabulous storytelling
      Civil Rights Unionism: Tobacco Workers and the Struggle for Democracy in the Mid-Twentieth-Century South
      Robert Rodgers Korstad
      Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

      Labor PolicyLabor Policy | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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      Similar Items:
      1. Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (The Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies) Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (The Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies)
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      3. I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle
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      5. Southern Labor and Black Civil Rights: ORGANIZING MEMPHIS WORKERS (Working Class in American History) Southern Labor and Black Civil Rights: ORGANIZING MEMPHIS WORKERS (Working Class in American History)

      ASIN: 0807854549
      Release Date: 2007-01-17

      Book Description

      Drawing on scores of interviews with black and white tobacco workers in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Robert Korstad brings to life the forgotten heroes of Local 22 of the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers of America-CIO. These workers confronted a system of racial capitalism that consigned African Americans to the basest jobs in the industry, perpetuated low wages for all southerners, and shored up white supremacy.

      Galvanized by the emergence of the CIO, African Americans took the lead in a campaign that saw a strong labor movement and the reenfranchisement of the southern poor as keys to reforming the South--and a reformed South as central to the survival and expansion of the New Deal. In the window of opportunity opened by World War II, they blurred the boundaries between home and work as they linked civil rights and labor rights in a bid for justice at work and in the public sphere.

      But civil rights unionism foundered in the maelstrom of the Cold War. Its defeat undermined later efforts by civil rights activists to raise issues of economic equality to the moral high ground occupied by the fight against legalized segregation and, Korstad contends, constrains the prospects for justice and democracy today.

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars Fascinating history, important analysis--read it!.......2004-05-07

      This is a terrific book--an important history that brings together a story of race, labor unions, economic change, politics, and culture, but never loses sight of the actual people involved. Very well written--not dry and academic like some history, but also very rich analytically. Buy it and read it!

      5 out of 5 stars Fabulous story, fabulous storytelling.......2003-06-28

      In this wonderful book, African American tobacco workers tell their own story of civil rights struggle and union organizing. It is long, but so was the struggle, and I couldn't put it down. Oral interviews give us the black workers' own accounts, sending, for once, the white supremacists to the back of the bus.
      Read it. You will find a South you never thought you would find.

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