Book Summary
State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence
A riveting portrait of the status of the labor movement and an analysis of why its continued unraveling would dramatically affect America's economy, politics, and way of life.
In the 276-page book, published by McGraw-Hill, Philip Dine provides a first-hand account of labor's decline and its meaning for U.S. politics and the middle class. Through in-depth reporting on grass-roots union victories in the workplace or politics, he maps out labor's struggle to regain its voice.
By exploring the lives of the people at heart of the story,
Dine brings to life the issues facing labor and shows how its fate is interwoven with the larger fabric of American life. He explains why labor must do better at shaping the electoral agenda, communicating its message and promoting the values of its members.
From steel workers, Teamsters, and coal miners to teachers, actors, and civil servants, union members once accounted for more than one-third of the American workforce. At a mere 12 percent, union membership today is a shadow of what it once was. What happened to organized labor in America and what can be done to restore it to its role of the defender of middle-class values and economic well-being?
Combining a compelling narrative with expert analysis, Dine offers first-hand accounts of employees striving to make their voices heard in a political landscape increasingly shaped by corporate interests, including how:
- » The women of Delta Pride— a major player in the multi-billion dollar catfish industry—went up against generations of racial and economic prejudice on the Mississippi Delta, and somehow won.
- » Iowa’s firefighters union flexed its collective muscle to score a major political victory in the 2004 presidential caucus, against all odds.
- » The American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO played a key role in bringing down the Iron Curtain, but hasn't told the story.
- » The Teamsters enlisted community support to temporarily stop a move by Mr. Coffee to relocate to Mexico and save nearly 400 manufacturing jobs in the Cleveland area.
For two decades, Dine has been considered one of the country's top labor journalists, reporting on a local, regional, national and international level. He did graduate studies in labor relations at MIT, spent two years researching Europe's labor movements and has spoken frequently on unions and labor-management issues.
The Gephardt Foreward
Among America's most respected voices in matters of labor-management relations and their link to national economic competitiveness, former Congressman Richard Gephardt served as House Democratic Leader from 1989 to 2003.
“...I can still hear my father, Louis Gephardt, getting out of bed at 3 a.m. and tiptoeing out of the house to get to Pevely Dairy in St. Louis to drive his truck on that retail delivery route. Because he was in a union, his son got a great education and got to be a candidate for President of the United States. Phil Dine's book makes us understand that the American economy —built strong on the back of a stable middle class—still depends on having strong unions...”
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About the Book
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