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Working Class in American History Ser.: Radical Unionism in the Midwest, 1900-1950 by Rosemary Feurer (2006, Perfect)
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- Buy It NowRadical Unionism in the Midwest, 1900-1950 Perfect Rosemary Feure
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press
ISBN-100252073193
ISBN-139780252073199
eBay Product ID (ePID)50414100
Product Key Features
Number of Pages360 Pages
Publication NameRadical Unionism in the MidWest, 1900-1950
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2006
SubjectLabor & Industrial Relations, United States / 20th Century
TypeTextbook
AuthorRosemary Feurer
Subject AreaPolitical Science, History
SeriesWorking Class in American History Ser.
FormatPerfect
Dimensions
Item Height1.2 in
Item Weight18.1 Oz
Item Length9.3 in
Item Width6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional
LCCN2006-006962
Dewey Edition22
Reviews"Exceptional. . . . Rigorously argued and documented. The strength of the book is the attention to detail, especially on the local level in the southern Midwest. . . . Worthy of a wide readership."-- Labor History, "[An] unquestionably successful effort to view the remarkable challenges faced by the American labour movement over a fifty-year period through the lens of one mid-western community. . . . In an analysis that incorporates gender, race, politics, economics, and biography, Feurer has made an enormous contribution to our understanding of how the American labour movement developed from the 1930s to the 1950s."-- Left History, " Radical Unionism in the Midwest is an important contribution to American labor history. It is based on exhaustive archival research as well as the author's oral history interviews with many former UE members. Missouri historians will benefit greatly from a serious consideration of the author's conclusions and their implications for writing a more complex synthesis of the state's history."-- Missouri Historical Review "In this deftly executed study. . . . Feurer reminds us that any study of industrial unionism must take seriously the contributions of radical labor activists."-- Annals of Iowa "An important moment in labor history when union activism and community organizing were fused by ordinary people who wanted to participate in the decisions that shaped their lives. Feurer narrates that moment--and captures its spirit--very well."-- Indiana Magazine of History "This is a superb and much-needed study of St. Louis and its radical union tradition. Feurer's thick description of the culture of community unionism and her deft handling of the complex role of the Communist Party locally make for a book that will realign the debates of historians on a variety of subjects for years to come. In the bargain, she provides a compelling biographical account of Communist William Sentner, a legendary figure in the local and regional labor movement."--Shelton Stromquist, author of Reinventing "The People": The Progressive Movement, the Class Problem, and the Origins of Modern Liberalism "Feurer's careful analysis, well aware of the contemporary crisis of organized labor, will quickly become the first book examined by labor scholars and activists who seek to find maps to a better future in the experiences of the past."--Peter Rachleff, Macalester College, "An important and engaging study of union activism in the first half of the twentieth century. . . . Feurer's approach is illuminating. . . . [and] has opened up a whole new set of possibilities for investigation of how workplace and community struggles have intersected, then and now."-- Business History Review, "Her book is a work of careful synthesis, and the depth of her research makes it a vitally important contribution to labor history and the history of American Communism. . . . This important study successfully illustrates the power and potential of an honestly left-wing unionism in American communities in the 1930s and 1940s."-- Journal of American History
IllustratedYes
Dewey Decimal331.880977/09041
Table Of ContentAcknowledgments ix Introduction xiii 1. The Militant Minority in the St. Louis Electrical Industry and the Political Economy of Control, 1900-1935 1 2. A Vision of Unionism Takes Shape 23 3. "Human Rights over Property Rights": Forging Movement Unionism in District 8 49 4. "This 'Red' Gave Them a Run for Their Money": Backlash and Holding Ground, 1937-40 87 5. World War Two and "Civic" Unionism 137 6. "To Be Full-Fledged Citizens of This Union": Contesting Anticommunism, 1945-50 177 Conclusion 225 Notes 239 Index 309 Illustrations to follow page 136
SynopsisAfter several failed attempts to organize workers in the early years of the Depression, District Eight of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) elected the openly communist William Sentner as president. Rosemary Feurer's Radical Unionism in the Midwest examines the story of the famously fierce battles between the Sentner-led UE workers and bitterly anti-union companies during the 1930s and '40s. Feurer studies District Eight through the union backlash in the wake of the 1937-38 recessions, the growth of the district during World War II, and the postwar anticommunist drive that targeted Sentner. Based on this history, Feurer contests the conventional idea that the political perspectives of radicals held little significance for trade union behavior and strategies. From one of the longest sit-down strikes in U.S. history to their community campaigns to democratize union decision making, Feurer argues that radical leaders and a significant segment of UE workers developed a style of unionism that sought to connect union and community concerns in order to undermine business power in the community and on the shop floor., After several failed attempts to organize workers in the early years of the Depression, District Eight of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) elected the openly communist William Sentner as president. Rosemary Feurer's Radical Unionism in the Midwest examines the story of the famously fierce battles between the Sentner-led UE ......, In Radical Unionism in the Midwest, 1900-1950 Rosemary Feurer examines the fierce battles between Midwestern electrical workers and bitterly anti-union electrical and metal industry companies during the 1930s and 40s. Organized as District 8 of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) and led by open Communist William Sentner, workers developed a style of unionism designed to confront corporate power and to be a force for social transformation in their community and nation.Feurer studies District 8 through a long lens, establishing early twentieth century contexts for these conflicts. Exploring the role of radicals in local movement formation, Feurer argues for a "civic" unionism that could connect community and union concerns to build solidarity and contest the political economy. District 8's spirited unionism included plant occupations in St. Louis and Iowa, campaigns to democratize economic planning, and local strategies for national bargaining that were depicted as a Communist conspiracy by a corporate influenced Congressional committee in Evansville, Indiana. District 8 was destroyed through reactionary networks and the anti-Communist backlash of the mid-twentieth century, but Feurer argues that its history tells another side of the labor movement s formation in the 1930s and 40s, and can inform current struggles against corporate power in the modern global economy. A website with more photographs and documents is available at www.radicalunionism.niu.edu ", District 8 of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) developed a style of unionism designed to confront corporate power but also act as a force for social transformation in their community and nation. Rosemary Feurer examines the fierce battles between these Midwestern electrical workers and the bitterly anti-union electrical and metal industry, Exploring the role of radicals in local movement formation, Feurer reveals a "civic" unionism that could connect community and union concerns to build solidarity and contest the political economy. District 8's spirited unionism included plant occupations in St. Louis and Iowa; campaigns to democratize economic planning; and strategies for national bargaining that elected officials inevitably branded as part of a communist conspiracy. Though destroyed by reactionaries and an anticommunist backlash, District 8 molded a story that tells another side of the labor movement's formation in the 1930s and 1940s, and can inform current struggles against corporate power in the modern global economy.
LC Classification NumberHD6508
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