A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track

by Andy Stern

Book Overview

Andy Stern, one of the most visionary leaders in America today, has fought relentlessly to ensure that Americans' hard work is rewarded in today's hypercompetitive, globalized world. As the newsmaking president of the fastest-growing, most dynamic union in America, he has led the charge for modernizing the "house of labor" -- taking unions out of the past and into the twenty-first century. He has spearheaded the campaign against the "Wal-Marting"...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743297687
• ISBN13: 9780743297684
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

The Hard Truth

Andy Stern deepens and extends previous efforts to describe and analyze the state of America's -- and, implicitly, the globe's -- socio-economic condition, and he supplies suggestions and proposals meant to remedy the more egregious symptoms of our civilization's decline. Long ago, Stern became the first major American labor leader to point publicly to the need for workers' action at the global level, and he turned heads three years ago with the somewhat heretical suggestion that US labor reconsider its monogamous relationship with the Democratic Party, a frequently unfaithful partner. For those who favor social change, A Country That Works provides a thoughtful overview and myriad leads toward a better future for all.

If you like your country, read this book!

After a long period of corruption, arrogance and distain for American values and American working people, a new generation of leaders is beginning to emerge...fresh voices with solid ideas and much to say to the Amerian people. The author of this book is one of them and he is inspriring the younger generations. Read this to understand how and why! A must read! Those who favor the status quo won't like it at all..those who are more optimistic will love it.

Clear and compelling

This book spells out in a clear and compelling fashion the challenges that American workers face in our global economy, and what can be done to stop the American dream from disintegrating any further. You may think of unions as a quaint, irrelevant relic of a bygone era, or perhaps you see them as a blight on business. After you read this book, you'll understand how Stern's progressive union, the SEIU, has the potential to be a real force for good, not just for workers, but for employers and the country as a whole. The best thing about Stern's book is that it doesn't just describe all the problems plaguing American workers, it offers innovative solutions from a union leader who is, on the one hand, willing to reach out to CEO's and conservatives, while also taking on Wal-Mart and other corporations who shortchange their own employees to boost their bottom line. Stern's even traveled to China five times to get a handle on our competition and how best to handle it. I got to hear Stern speak at a book party for A Country That Works the other night, and he spoke so passionately and persuasively that I decided I really had to get a second copy of his book to give my dad, who's always held an anti-union bias. Unfortunately, Stern did such a great job pitching his ideas that they sold the forty copies of A Country That Works his publisher had provided before I could get my hands on one. Looks like my dad will have to settle for an unsigned copy!

Finally!

Finally, a book that tells the truth about what is really happening to the middle class in this country -- and more importantly, gives common sense solutions that could really turn America around. That's probably because it is written -- not by someone who has spent his life in academia or in politics or talking on TV or radio -- but on the front lines actually fighting to make work pay for working families. He's looked both employers and working people in the eye, and that makes all the difference. This book is interesting, personal, and visionary.

Best of its Kind

Informative, visionary, yet personal. This book is the work of a brilliant individual who is passionate about his subject. His views cover not only the story of labor,then, now and in the future, but its interconnection with governments and economies throughout the world.