William E. Scheuerman 
A New American Labor Movement [EPUB ebook] 
The Decline of Collective Bargaining and the Rise of Direct Action

The American labor movement isn’t dead. It’s just moving from the bargaining table to the streets. In
A New American Labor Movement, William Scheuerman analyzes how the decline of unions and the emergence of these new direct-action movements are reshaping the American labor movement. Tens of thousands of exploited workers—from farm laborers and gig drivers to freelance artists and restaurant workers—have taken to the streets in a collective attempt to attain a living wage and decent working conditions, with or without the help of unions. This new worker militancy, expressed through mass demonstrations, strikes, sit-ins, political action, and similar activities, has already achieved much success and offers models for workers to exercise their power in the twenty-first century. Finally, Scheuerman notes, many of the strategies of the new direct-action groups share features with the sectoral bargaining model that dominates the European labor movement, suggesting that sectoral bargaining may become the foundation of a new American labor movement.

Inhoudsopgave

Acknowledgments



Introduction



1. Why Unions Matter



2. The Long Slide



3. Farmworkers Fight Back



4. Worker Centers in Focus



5. Freelancers Union: Backward to the Future?



6. Taking to the Streets



7. All Roads Lead to . . . Sectoral Bargaining?



Notes

Index

Over de auteur

William E. Scheuerman is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the State University of New York at Oswego. Prior to retiring as President of the National Labor College, he served as President of the United University Professions, the faculty and staff union at SUNY. He is currently Treasurer of the American Labor Studies Center. Scheuerman has authored several books, including
United University Professions: Pioneering in Higher Education Unionism (with Nuala Mc Gann Drescher and Ivan D. Steen), also published by SUNY Press.