Focusing on Terence Powderly, the influential leader of the Knights of Labor, this book explores his pivotal role in the Gilded Age's most significant labor organization. It provides a thorough analysis of his extensive correspondence, revealing his efforts to foster class-wide solidarity during a transformative period in American labor history. Powderly's recognition and impact on workers, industrialists, and politicians highlight his legacy as a pioneering figure in the labor movement.
This book brings together many of the today’s leading labour scholars to assess the current state and future prospects of organised labour world-wide. It offers analysis of the causes and extent of the movement’s current malaise from a variety of vantage points. It provides eight national and regional studies – China, Britain, France, the US, Eastern Europe, Brazil, Ghana and Cameroon – that detail problems faced and the revitalisation strategies trade unions have pursued in response. It also offers fresh scholarly perspectives on a host of pressing labour the extent and impact of global corporate restructuring; the ongoing fight to achieve core labour standards; the enduring importance of gender and diversity; the fortunes of the international labour movement; the relationship between trade unions and NGOs; the intellectual response to organised labour’s present predicament; and the role of labour in the global social justice movement. With its expansive focus and interdisciplinary approach, this collection will stand as a starting point for any investigation into the status of organised labour in the contemporary world.
This book investigates the state of trade unionism in Africa’s most populous regional economic zone. With the exception of the former British colonies of Nigeria and Ghana, surprisingly little has been written on the trade union movements that have played such pivotal roles in the histories of the fifteen countries that comprise the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Trade Unions in West Africa is the story of how trade unions, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, have achieved a measure of success and how they remain today a weakened but still potent source of potential change in one of the most politically and economically troubled regions in the world. As the chapters in this book make clear, one of the brightest hopes for the continent is the strength of its civil society, and in West Africa, trade unionism has long been at the forefront of civil society’s efforts to make a difference.
Although trade unionism has been declining in virtually every part of the world, its continued demise is not a foregone conclusion. As it has throughout its history, trade unionism has demonstrated a capacity to adapt, to make its voice heard, to reassert its power. The scale and scope of experimentation taking place in the labour movement today is testimony not just to the depth of the crisis but also to the possibility of resurgence in the years ahead. This book is an essential resource for anyone wishing to know about contemporary labour issues. It offers a comprehensive introduction to the state of trade unionism in the world today, and the often innovative strategies and tactics trade unionists are using to revive their organisations in each of the major nations of the world. Leading labour scholars discuss, in clear prose, the health of the trade union movement, the present political and economic climate for trade union advancement, the dominant revitalisation strategies, and future prospects in each nation. Each chapter includes an up-to-date guide to further reading.