American Workers, American Unions: The Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries

By Robert H. Zieger and Professor Robert H. Zieger

Book Overview

An update to the classic history of labor and unions for a post-9/11 world.

Highly acclaimed and widely read since its first publication in 1986, American Workers, American Unions provides a concise and compelling history of American workers and their unions in the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first.

Taking into account recent important work on the 1970s and the Reagan revolution, the fourth edition newly considers the stagflation issue, the rise of globalization and big box retailing, the failure of Congress to pass legislation supporting the right of public employees to collective bargaining, the defeat in Congress of legislation to revise the National Labor Relations Act, the emasculation of the Humphrey-Hawkins Act, and the changing dynamics of blue-collar politics.

In addition to important new information on the 1970s and 1980s, the fourth edition contains a completely new final chapter. Largely written by Timothy J. Minchin, this chapter provides a rare survey of American workers and their unions between 9/11 and the 2012 presidential election. Gilbert J. Gall presents new information on government workers and their recent battles to defend workplace rights.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421413434
• ISBN13: 9781421413433
• Release Date: May 2014
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 8.9"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Favorite One-Volume History

This is by far my favorite single-volume book of labor history. It's a well-researched, balanced survey of the 20th century, scholarly yet highly readable. I have assigned it as initial reading in graduate-level labor relations courses to lay a historical foundation, and students have given postive feedback on the book (mirroring my comments above).