State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence

Synopsis

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? Award-winning Investigative Reporter Philip M. Dine Takes Us On A Journey Through America's Cities And Back Roads, Its Factories And Union Halls, To Answer Those Questions. From The Health-care Crisis To Massive Job Flight Overseas, From Rampant Home Foreclosures To Illegal Immigration, He Clearly Shows How Virtually Every Major Economic, Political, And Social Trend Impacting Our Way Of Life Is Tied To The State Of America's Unions.--jacket. Introduction -- Dead Man Walking -- Delta Pride -- Heartland Values -- From Dialogue To Division -- Up On The Roof (or Silencing The Working Class) -- Joe T! Joe T! -- What It Means For The Future -- Notes. Philip M. Dine. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 265-268) And Index.