Book Description
A former union buster exposes the dirty tricks that elevated him to the top of his profession and that have transformed the war on organized labor into a billion-dollars-per-year industry. This book is the story of a man who has decided to come in out of the cold, to clear his conscience, and to share the hard lessons he has learned.
Line drawings.
Customer Reviews:
Extremely Interesting.......2003-12-12
This book is a fascinating account of not only union busting but a man's descent into greed. I couldn't put it down.
Tale of a True Mensch.......2002-07-16
In retrospect, this author is able to see what choices and decisions he had to make in his working life made on others; not a usual occurrence in the real world.
What Marty Levitt passes on to his readers is that even though he didn't feel the brunt of his decisions at the time, he realized the difference that he made on their lives later, when he was able to review and reflect on his own choices.
The tale of alcoholism is sad, but admirable in that he acknowledged it and was seeking a better life for the future.
Marty's decision was a good one, to share this story with the world. It is well written and well presented; an enlightening way to share his knowledge and experience about unions and union busting, as well as own personal weaknesses with the world in order to move on. I even enjoyed re-reading it after over five years.
Defeat your companies anti-union plan!.......2001-12-25
Marty is an extrordinary man who, not only through this book, is helping workers gain the right to better working conditions and benefits.
In Las Vegas we are organizing all the Wal-Mart's and Sam's Club's and recently my Sam's Club was the first one in quite some time to petition for an entire store election.
Marty volunteered his time to talk with us about what the company would do (which they did) and how to counter it.
His book is full of his exploits as a 'union buster' and the damage he created. For anyone who believes that their company is trying to 'educate' them about unions should first read this book.
Bottom line: If you want to know how far corporate America wants to restrict their employees rights under Federal law to have a Union, read this book.
Confessions of a Union Member.......2001-02-23
I read Mr. Levitt's book on the recommendation of a coworker. While I found it to be an informative and digusting peek into the sordid world of the professional union-buster, I was dismayed that Mr. Levitt was using his misery causing professional experience to make more money from the victims he is now trying to make ammends to after the crime.
The book is a must read for any American worker - particularly those who labor in a Right To Work state or under a Birmingham Plan minded management. I only wish that any profits from the book were going to fund union organizing drives in an effort to make some small reparation to those who were harmed by the odious and demeaning tactics Mr. Levitt wielded as his tools of trade in the employ of greedy, capricious managers.
Well-written and astute.......2000-07-06
A well-written and comprehensive account of a labor relations consultant's misdeeds. Catalogues with many accute psychological observations the harm many managers and labor relations consultants cause workers through wrong actions--often, he confesses, willfully. Also, the personal experience of holding a destructive job and the accompanying mechanisms denial are important to understand, both in this book and in all our lives as workers, consultants, or managers. In his career, Levitt's cycle of destructive work was linked with alcoholism and compensatory over-spending, and the authors make it clear that the personal psychological knots of consultants and managers perpetuate their wrong actions and livelihoods. This narration is heartrending and sickening, but is a vital call to examination of the labor crimes in this country and of personal responsibility for suffering.
Book Description
Sharp decreases in union membership over the last fifty years have caused many to dismiss organized labor as irrelevant in today's labor market. In the private sector, only 8 percent of workers today are union members, down from 24 percent as recently as 1973. Yet developments in Southern California—including the successful Justice for Janitors campaign—suggest that reports of organized labor's demise may be exaggerated. In L.A. Story, sociologist and labor expert Ruth Milkman explains how Los Angeles, once known as a company town hostile to labor, became a hotbed of unionism, and how immigrant workers emerged as the unlikely leaders in the battle for workers' rights.
L.A. Story shatters many of the myths about modern labor with a close look at workers in four industries in Los Angeles: building maintenance, trucking, construction, and garment production. Though many blame deunionization and deteriorating working conditions on immigrants, Milkman shows that this conventional wisdom is wrong. Her analysis reveals that worsening work environments preceded the influx of foreign-born workers, who filled the positions only after native-born workers fled these suddenly undesirable jobs. Ironically, L.A. Story shows that immigrant workers, who many union leaders feared were incapable of being organized because of language constraints and fear of deportation, instead proved highly responsive to organizing efforts. As Milkman demonstrates, these mostly Latino workers came to their service jobs in the United States with a more group-oriented mentality than the native-born workers they replaced. Some also drew on experience in their native countries with labor and political struggles. This stock of fresh minds and new ideas, along with a physical distance from the east-coast centers of labor's old guard, made Los Angeles the center of a burgeoning workers' rights movement.
L.A.'s recent history highlights some of the key ingredients of the labor movement's resurgence—new leadership, latitude to experiment with organizing techniques, and a willingness to embrace both top-down and bottom-up strategies. L.A. Story's clear and thorough assessment of these developments points to an alternative, high-road national economic agenda that could provide workers with a way out of poverty and into the middle class.
Book Description
At a time when the American labor movement is mobilizing for a major resurgence through new organizing, here, at last, is a book about research on union organizing strategies. Previous studies have focused on factors contributing to union decline, devoting little attention to the organizing process itself. The twenty chapters in this volume dramatically increase understanding of the range and effectiveness of new organizing strategies and their potential contribution to the revitalization of the labor movement.
The introduction defines the context of the current organizing climate. Major sections of the book cover strategic initiatives in union organizing, overcoming barriers to worker support for unions, community-based organizing, building membership and public support for organizing, and organizing initiatives by industry or by sector. Individual chapters focus on topics such as organizing outside the NLRB process, the role of clergy, local labor councils, and rank-and-file volunteer organizers.
Contributors: Adrienne Birecree. Kate Bronfenbrenner. Larry Cohen. Brian Condit. Daniel Cornfield. Tom Davis. Dean Eatman. Christopher Erickson. Jack Fiorito. Bill Fletcher. Fernando Gapasin. Jeffrey Grabelsky. Richard W. Hurd. Tom Juravich. Fred Kotler. Janet Lewis. Holly McCammon. John McClendon. Darren McDaniel. Theresa Merrill. Ruth Milkman. Bill Mirand. Daniel J. B. Mitchell. Gregor Murray. Ruth Needleman. Immanuel Ness. Bruce Nissen. Ronald Peters. Jim Rundle. Katherine Sciacchitano. Lowell Turner. Abel Valenzuela. Roger Waldinger. Roger Weikle. Hoyt Wheeler. Howard Wial. Kent Wong. Angela Young. Maurice Zeitlin.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book for Union Organizers!.......2007-05-07
This is a good reference tool for Union Organizers, a bit outdated, but a lot of the info is still current. So I would definatly recommend this book!
Interesting for both union insiders and non-unionists.......1999-02-20
This is another labor community insider book directed toward labor union leaders and their strategists and written by the same. The motivation is the reversal of the sagging fortunes of labor unions. Many of the articles focus on the need for grassroots activity by existing union members and community supporters. Several union campaigns utilizing members are examined in detail. Union support organizations such as the Garment Women Justice Center are described. Serveral articles examine subtleties of the motivations of non-unionists to vote for a union. An interesting observation is that white collar and technical workers are turned off by the potential for conflict when joining a union, which is interesting in light of the fact that unions have always relied on confrontation as their tool of last resort. The main point of the editors is that union tactics and actions make a large difference in organizing success. The second point is that unions must remake themselves into organizing bodies and avail themselves of the wisdom contained in these articles. But for non-union insiders reading this book, many chinks appear when looking at the articles in totality. For example, one article shows that belonging to two community organiztions lowers the desire to join a union, yet many articles tout labor-community coalitions. In one case where community connections were leveraged to the fullest to win a union contract, it is admitted that may have been a one-time occurrence. A large and confusing point that leaps out from these articles is, just what is a union. Is it a centralized business that collects fees from subsidiaries, demands adherence to policies from the CEO, and provides services? Or is a union a legally recognized association of workers at a locale that affiliates with a national body but retains sovereignty? Statements that workers "are" the union hide more than they reveal. If workers are the union, can they insist that national unions remain committed to a servicing model? If workers are the union, how can some national unions literally require local unions to focus on recruitment? Claiming that workers are the union can be a demotivator for joining a union. After all, it is workers who have unsuccessfully dealt with employers on their own that want to join unions; now they want support, not abandonment. The editors and authors may complain that this book is not about "what is a union," but is only about subtle strategy. If so, they need to put a "Nonunionists need not read" label on the cover. Actually the book is worth reading by all interested in the situation of labor not only on its educational merits but also for the questions that it can engender for non-insiders. Who knows, maybe their next book can be "What is a Union."
Average customer rating:
- Magdalena's Song has a home in my personal library
- Couldn't put the book down
- Great story.
- Escape to 1947
- Magdalena's Song
|
Magdalena's Song
Pat Mattaini Mestern
Manufacturer: High Country Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Ghosts
| Horror
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
| 18th Century
| 19th Century
| 20th Century
| Classics
| Contemporary
| General
| Historical
| Humor
| Letters & Correspondence
| Middle
| Old
| Poetry
| Renaissance
| Shakespeare
| Short Stories
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Psychological & Suspense
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Horror Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0971304580 |
Book Description
When the mysterious Count Daniel Vincent Cudzinski visits this industrial village in Ontario, the tightly woven fabric of its traditional culture unravels. Is he the ghost of an old gypsy, lover of a daughter from one of the town's founding families back for revenge against his tormentor? Or is he simply a labor organizer with a very slick cover story?
Customer Reviews:
Magdalena's Song has a home in my personal library.......2003-09-20
I've waited a long time for a book like Magdalena's Song to be written. Scenery is set up beautifully but the most impressive part of the book is definitely the plot. As the mystery spins out I was lured to turn page after page and entranced by the most unusual but believable characters. The intricately woven plot is woven with wonderful segments of description and lots of realistic dialogue. And, like the novels of Lucy M.Montgomery, every chapter in Mestern's novel is full of good food! The story is a symphony of words accompanied by a phantom gypsy violin. Great book! I couldn't put it down.
Couldn't put the book down.......2003-06-03
I'd like to thank Pat Mestern for writing the best book I've read in years. I purchased Magdalena's Song on a Sunday and am usually the type of reader that usually takes weeks to finish a book. I enjoyed this book so much I read it, cover to cover, in two days,closed the cover on Tuesday afternoon. What a wonderful book! I couldn't put it down.
Great story........2003-05-02
I've never before been so caught up in the lives of a book's characters. From beginning to end "Magdalena's Song" kept me entertained, intrigued and totally immersed in the story. The book made me want to pay a visit the area in which the story took place - Ontario, Canada. I've placed "Magdalena's Song" on my list of purchases for Christmas presents for everyone on my list.
Escape to 1947.......2003-02-26
Magdalena's Song is well written.Its pages are inhabited by wonderful characters set in a village you won't soon forget. I couldn't put this book down until the last page was turned. A number of us in our reading group are still debating one burning question - but then you'll have to read it to find out what that question is.
Magdalena's Song.......2003-01-31
This book contains romance, mystery, and the supernatural. It has all the elements that combine and make this a wonderful book. The author has created a book that will leave you wanting to know the answer to the question-Who is this man?
Book Description
"Finally, the book we've all been waiting for! With gripping tales of grassroots experiments in social justice unionism from the 1960s to the present, Vanessa Tait cracks wide open our concept of what a labor movement looks like, and shows how it can be part and parcel of movements for racial and gender justice. In the process, she does a stunning job of helping us imagine workers' movements that are creative, democratic, and, above all, build power from below-pointing the way to a vibrant future for labor."-Dana Frank, UC-Santa Cruz; author of Buy American: The Untold Story of Economic Nationalism
"A critical contribution to broadening our understanding of who and what is the labor movement in the USA. . . . Tait captures the dynamism of alternative forms of working class organization that have long been ignored. In formulating a new direction for organized labor in the USA, the history Tait addresses must become a recognized part of our foundation."-Bill Fletcher, Jr., President, TransAfrica Forum and former assistant to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
"While the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions desperately try to figure out how to rebuild and energize the labor movement, this exceptional book reveals that poor workers have been showing the way for the past forty years. Utilizing original documents, Tait examines . . . a wide range of movements organized by poor workers to improve their circumstances and build a more just society, including the Revolutionary Union Movement, the National Welfare Rights Organization, ACORN's Unite Labor Unions, workfare unions, and independent workers' centers. She demonstrates that these movements were founded and developed upon principles of rank-and-file control, democracy, community involvement, and solidarity and aimed to improve all aspects of workers' lives. . . . Both labor activists and labor historians will learn much from this book."-Michael Yates, author of Why Unions Matter
Customer Reviews:
An inspiring book about grassroots labor organizing.......2005-11-21
A wonderful tour through movements for economic justice since the 1960s, covering decades of good organizing work by civil rights, feminist, immigrant and anti-poverty groups. Many of these worked outside the boundaries of the "official" labor movement, creating inventive local and sometimes national unions to fight for improved wages and working conditions along with issues like affordable housing, decent health care, and social and economic equality for women, immigrants and people of color. The author pays careful attention to the dynamics of race, ethnicity and gender within labor and community groups, and shows how diversity can be a great asset in building stronger movements. This important book should be read by anyone trying to understand labor's historical development and future direction. An enjoyable read!
One of the most important books of the year.......2005-06-19
As the american people see their standard of living decline, as fewer and fewer of us have health care, as pensions crumble into dusts and the social safety net becomes a fond memory, we wonder: Why is this happening? Fifty six million people would join a Labor union tommorrow if it wouldn't cost them their job. The most serious problem facing the country is the decline of Labor unions, and Dr. Tait knows why. Unions became bureaucratized and inflexible and could not withstand the onslaught of government and institutional persecution. Out of this wreckage, Dr. Tait explains why and how some unions and organizations were able to succeed in a time of failure. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of recent economic and social history, she has a shrewd insight into politics and group dynamics and she writes clearly and lucidly. This book ought to be required reading for every working person in the country. With American workers under attack on virtually every front, the time to stand up is now and this book shows how and where.
One of the most important books of the year.......2005-05-19
As the american people see their standard of living decline, as fewer and fewer of us have health care, as pensions crumble into dusts and the social safety net becomes a fond memory, we wonder: Why is this happening? Fifty six million people would join a Labor union tommorrow if it wouldn't cost them their job. The most serious problem facing the country is the decline of Labor unions, and Dr. Tait knows why. Unions became bureaucratized and inflexible and could not withstand the onslaught of government and institutional persecution. Out of this wreckage, Dr. Tait explains why and how some unions and organizations were able to succeed in a time of failure. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of recent economic and social history, she has a shrewd insight into politics and group dynamics and she writes clearly and lucidly. This book ought to be required reading for every working person in the country. With American workers under attack on virtually every front, the time to stand up is now and this book shows how and where.
Book Description
We are not shy about reporting human rights abuses around the globe. We are much more reluctant to recognize them at home. This book exposes the violations of human rights witnessed daily in workplaces across our country. Based on detailed case studies in a variety of sectors, it reveals an "unfair advantage" in U.S. law and practice that allows employers to fire or otherwise punish thousands of workers as they seek to exercise their rights of association and to exclude millions more from laws that protect their rights to bargain and to organize.
Unfair Advantage approaches workers' use of organizing, collective bargaining, and strikes as an exercise of basic rights where workers are autonomous actors, not objects of unions' or employers' institutional interests. Both historical experience and a review of current conditions around the world indicate that strong, independent, democratic trade unions are vital for societies where human rights are respected. In Lance Compa's view, human rights cannot flourish where workers' rights are not enforced. While researching workers' exercise of these rights in different industries, occupations, and regions of the United States, Human Rights Watch found that freedom of association is under severe, often buckling pressure when workers in the United States try to exercise it. Cornell University Press is making this valuable report, originally published in August 2000, available again as a paperback with a new introduction and conclusion that bring the story up-to-date.
Book Description
"In order to recruit new members on a scale that would be required to significantly rebuild union power, unions must fundamentally alter their internal organizational practices. This means creating more organizer positions on the staff; developing programs to teach current members how to handle the tasks involved in resolving shop-floor grievances; and building programs that train members to participate fully in the work of external organizing. Such a reorientation entails redefining the very meaning of union membership from a relatively passive stance toward one of continuous active engagement."—from the Introduction
In Rebuilding Labor Ruth Milkman and Kim Voss bring together established researchers and a new generation of labor scholars to assess the current state of labor organizing and its relationship to union revitalization. Throughout this collection, the focus is on the formidable challenges unions face today and on how they may be overcome. Rebuilding Labor begins with a comprehensive overview of recent union organizing in the United States; goes on to present a series of richly detailed case studies of such topics as union leadership, organizer recruitment and retention, union democracy, and the dynamics of anti-unionism among rank-and-file workers; and concludes with a quantitative chapter on the relationship between union victories and establishment survival. This interdisciplinary collection of original scholarship on New Labor offers a window into an otherwise invisible emergent social movement.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book for Union Organizers!.......2007-05-07
This book is a good reference tool for the novice Union Organizer. I recommend it highly. It goes over alot of stuff you already know, but it is good to be reminded of such!
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2006-01-13
THE best book you can get on tactics for union activists FULL STOP.
Average customer rating:
|
Labor Geographies: Workers and the Landscapes of Capitalism
Andrew Herod
Manufacturer: The Guilford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Industrial Relations
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Industrial Relations
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Human Geography
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Earth Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Geography
| Earth Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Earth Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Geography
| Earth Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
All Amazon Upgrade
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Business & Investing
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Professional & Technical
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 1572306858 |
Book Description
Discussions of the geographic transformations wrought by capitalism generally treat corporations as the primary agents of spatial change. We hear of billions of dollars flowing here, factories moving there, venture capitalists opening up new markets, and workers having to "take it or leave it." Yet labor too is increasingly thinking and acting geographically, whether by struggling to impose national contracts; building regional, national, or international links of solidarity; or engaging in debates over local economic development. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the emerging discipline of labor geography. Combining innovative theoretical analysis with empirical case studies from around the world, Herod examines the spatial contexts and scales in which workers live, organize, and work to address particular economic and political problems. The first book-length text of its kind, this is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in working-class life, workers' organizations, and the contemporary dynamics of capitalism.
Product Description
More Than Meets the Ear is the story of a grassroots movement that transformed labor relations and the professional lives of U.S. and Canadian symphony musicians. The struggles and accomplishments experienced by many visionary leaders of the '50s, '60s, and '70s offer inspiration to new generations of musicians, students, teachers, music lovers, labor historians, and orchestra administrators. Written from the perspective of a professional orchestra musician who has experience in committee activity and labor negotiations, More Than Meets the Ear is a unprecedented overview of the profound effect the musician's labor movement has had on the profession. Minnesota Orchestra case history documents the growth of a major American orchestra in dramatic detail and anecdotes.
Customer Reviews:
The story of events that changed musical history........2006-03-13
This is a painstakingly well researched story of the development of an American profession, that of "symphonic musician." How a group of downtrodden and exploited artists took control of their lives and redeemed a profession makes fascinating reading. This is a must-read for all those who now seek to enter this profession, so that they will understand the sacrifice and devotion it took to liberate and make this calling worthy of their study and diligence. Not to be missed!!
Books:
- Conflict Resolution for the Helping Professions
- Coping with Difficult People: The Proven-Effective Battle Plan That Has Helped Millions Deal with the Troublemakers in Their Lives at Home and at Work
- Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within (Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series)
- Evaluation with Power: A New Approach to Organizational Effectiveness, Empowerment, and Excellence (The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit and Public Management Series)
- Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind RE/MAX
- Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
- Fourth Generation R&D: Managing Knowledge, Technology, and Innovation
- Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods
- Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Nanny Diaries: A Novel
- Sacred Influence: What a Man Needs from His Wife to Be the Husband She Wants
- Lysosomes
- Introduction to Vertex Operator Superalgebras and Their Modules
- National Electrical Code 2005 Softcover Version
- Rural Women Battering and the Justice System: An Ethnography
- The Complete Book of Foaling: An Illustrated Guide for the Foaling Attendant
- A Passion for Collecting: Decorating with Art and Antiques
- Italian Interior Design: Italian Interiors 1990-1999/Italienische Interieurs 1990-1999
- Homeostasis In Desert Reptiles
Organizing to Win: New Research on Union Strategies (ILR Press Books)
From Blackjacks to Briefcases: A History of Commercialized Strikebreaking and Unionbusting in the United States
Rebuilding Labor: Organizing and Organizers in the New Union Movement
The Union Member's Complete Guide: Everything You Want -- And Need -- To Know About Working Union
Why Unions Matter
