This article examines the scholarly literature giving advice to U.S. unions on the strategic direction they should pursue. It divides much of the literature into two main schools of thought: "value added" or "mutual gains" unionism (VAU), and "social movement" unionism (SMU). Both schools of thought are explained and evalu ated. The two are then compared, using contemporary national and local examples to illustrate each. After comparing their pros pects and advantages/disadvantages, the article concludes that SMU has a better likelihood of reviving the U.S. labor movement, al though its adoption as dominant practice is far from assured.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Acuff, Stewart.2000. "The Battle in Seattle and Where We Go from Here ." New LaborForum6 (Spring/Summer): 30-4.
2.
Aronowitz, Stanley.1973. False Promises: The Shaping of American Working Class Consciousness. New York: McGraw Hill Publishers.
3.
Brecher, Jeremy and Tim Costello , eds. 1990. Building Bridges: The Emerging Coalition ofLabor and Community. New York: Monthly Review Press.
4.
Brecher, Jeremy and Tim Costello.1994. Global Village or Global Pillage: Economic Reconstruction from the Bottom Up. Boston: South End Press.
5.
. 1998. "A 'New Labor Movement' in the Shell of the Old?" In A New Labor Movement for the New Century. Gregory Mantsios, ed. New York: Garland Publishers, Inc.: 29-50.
6.
Brecher, Jeremy, Tim Costello , and Brendon Smith, eds. 2000. Globalilzation from Below: The Power of Solidarity. Boston: South End Press.
7.
Brody, David.1993. "A Movement in Crisis." In Workers in Industrial America: Essays on the 20th Century Struggle. New York : Oxford University Press: 242-66.
8.
Bronfenbrenner, Kate.1997. "Organizing in the NAFTA Environment: How Companies Use 'Free Trade' to Stop Unions." New Labor Forum1, (Fall): 50-60.
9.
Cochran, Bert, ed. 1959. American Labor in Midpassage. New York: Monthly Review Press.
10.
Cohen, Larry and Steve Early.1999. "Defending Workers Rights in the Global Economy: the CWA Experience." In Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations. Bruce Nissen, ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press:143-64.
11.
Commons, John R.1913. Labor and Administration. New York : Macmillan.
12.
Crosby, Jeff.2000. "The Kids are Alright." NewLaborForum6 (Spring/Summer): 35-9.
13.
Delp, Linda and Katie Quan.2002. "Homecare Worker Organizing in California: An Analysis of a Successful Strategy." Labor Studies Journal27, no. 1: 1-23.
14.
Downs, Peter.1999. "Unsung Heroes of Union Democracy: Rank-and-File Organizers ." In The Transformation of U.S. Unions : Voices, Visions, and Strategies from the Grassroots . Ray M. Tillman and Michael S. Cummings, eds. Boulder, CO : Lynne Rienner Publishers: 117-35.
15.
Eckstein, Enid.2001. "Putting Organizing Back into Labor Councils." Working USA5, no. 1: 124-44.
16.
Eisenscher, Michael.1999a. "Critical Juncture: Unionism at the Crossroads ." In Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations. Bruce Nissen , ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press: 217-45.
17.
. 1999b. "Labor: Turning the Comer Will Take More than Mobilization ." In The Transformation ofU.S. Unions : Voices, Visions, and Strategies from the Grassroots . Ray M. Tillman and Michael S. Cummings, eds. Boulder, CO : Lynne Rienner Publishers:61-85.
18.
Fisk, Catherine L., Daniel J.B. Mitchell, and Christopher L. Erickson.2000. "Union Representation of Immigrant Janitors in Southern California: Economic and Legal Challenges ." In Organizing Immigrants: The Challenge for Unions in Contemporary California. Ruth Milkman, ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press: 169-98.
19.
Fletcher Jr., Bill.1998. "Whose Democracy? Organized Labor and Member Control ." In In A New Labor Movement for the New Century. Gregory Mantsios, ed. New York : Garland Publishers, Inc.: 21-8.
20.
Fletcher, Jr., Bill and Richard W. Hurd .1998. "Beyond the Organizing Model: the Transformation Process in Local Unions." In Organizing to Win: New Research on Union Strategies. Kate Bronfenbrenner, Sheldon Friedman, Richard W. Hurd, Rudolph A. Oswald, and Ronald L. Seeber, eds. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press : 37-53.
21.
_. 1999. "Political Will, Local Union Transformation, and the Organizing Imperative." In Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations. Bruce Nissen, ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press:191-216.
22.
. 2000. "Is Organizing Enough? Race, Gender and Union Culture ." New LaborForum6 (Spring/Summer): 59-69.
23.
Fraser, Steve and Nelson Lichtenstein .2000. "Teamsters and Turtles." NewLabor Forum6 (Spring/Summer): 23-9.
24.
Freeman, Richard B. and James L. Medoff .1984. What Do UnionsDo?New York: Basic Books.
25.
Gapasin, Fernando and Howard Wial.1998. "The Role of Central Labor Councils in Union Organizing in the 1990s." In Organizing to Win: NewResearch on Union Strategies. Kate Bronfenbrenner, Sheldon Friedman, Richard W. Hurd, Rudolph A. Oswald, and Ronald L. Seeber, eds. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press: 54-67.
26.
Godard, John and John T. Delaney .2000. "Reflections on the 'High Performance' Paradigm's Implications for Industrial Relations as a Field." Industrial and Labor Relations Review53, No. 3: 482-502.
27.
Golden, Clinton S. and Harold J. Ruttenberg .1942. The Dynamics of Industrial Democracy. New York: Harper and Brothers.
28.
Hecksher, Charles.1988. The New Unionism:Employee Involvement in the Changing Corporation. New York: Basic Books .
Johnston, Paul.2000. "The Resurgence of Labor as Citizenship Movement in the New Labor Relations Environment." Critical Sociology26, no. 1/2: 139-60.
31.
Katz, Henry.2001. "Afterword: Whither the American Labor Movement ?" In Rekindling the Movement: Labor's Quest for Relevance in the 21st Century. LowellTurner, Harry C. Katz, and Richard W Hurd , eds. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press : 339-49.
32.
Kimeldorf, Howard.1999. BattlingforAmerican Labor: Wobblies, Craft Workers, and the Making of the Union Movement. Berkeley, CA: The University of California Press.
33.
Kochan, Thomas A., Harry C. Katz, and Robert B. McKersie.1986. The Transformation of American Industrial Relations. New York: Basic Books.
34.
Kochan, Thomas A. and Paul Osterman.1994. The Mutual GainsEnterprise: Forging a Winning Partnership Among Labor, Management and Government. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
35.
Kriesky, Jill, ed. Working Together to Revitalize Labor in our Communities: Case Studies of Labor Education-Central Labor Body Collaboration. 1998. Orono, Maine: University of Maine, University and College Labor Education Association.
36.
Labor Research Review#1 7, 10, no. 1 (Spring 1991).
37.
Lazes, Peter and Jane Savage.1997. "New Unionism and the Workplace of the Future." In Unions and Workplace Reorganization. Bruce Nissen, ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press:181-207.
38.
Lens, Sidney.1959. The Crisis of American Labor. New York : A. S. Barnes and Co.
39.
Lerner, Stephen.1991. "Let's Get Moving! Labor's Survival Depends on Organizing Industry-Wide for Justice and Power." LaborResearch Review18, no. 2 (Fall/Winter): 1-15.
40.
Lester, Richard A.1958. As UnionsMature. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
41.
Levine, David.1995. Reinventing the Workplace. Washington, DC: Brookings Institute.
42.
MacDuffie, John Paul.1995. "Workers' Roles in Lean Production: the Implications for Worker Representation." In Lean Work: Empowerment and Exploitation in the Global Auto Industry. Steve Babson , ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press:54-69.
43.
Mishel, Lawrence and Paula B. Voos, eds. 1992. Unions and Economic Competitiveness . Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
44.
Moberg, David.1999. "The U.S. Labor Movement Faces the 21st Century ." In Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations. Bruce Nissen , ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press: 21-33.
45.
Moody, Kim.1988. An Injury to All: The Decline of American Unionism . New York: Verso.
46.
. 1999. "The Dynamics of Change." In The Transformation of U.S. Unions: Voices, Visions, and Strategies from the Grassroots. Ray M. Tillman and Michael S. Cummings, eds. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers: 97-115.
47.
Ness, Immanuel and Stuart Eimer, eds. 2001. Central Labor Councils and the Revival of American Unionism: Organizing for Justice in Our Communities . Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
48.
Nissen, Bruce.1999. "Cross Border Alliances in the Era of Globalization ." In The Transformation of U.S. Unions : Voices, Visions, and Strategies from the Grassroots . Ray M. Tillman and Michael S. Cummings, eds. Boulder, CO : Lynne Rienner Publishers:239-53.
49.
. 2001 . "The 'Social Movement' Dynamiics of Living Wage Campaigns ." In Proceedings of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Industrial Relations Research Association (January 5-7, New Orleans). Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association.
50.
Nissen, Bruce, ed. 2002. Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.
51.
Nissen, Bruce and Seth Rosen.1999. "Community-Based Organizing: Transforming Union Organizing Programs from the Bottom Up." In Which Direction for Organized Labor?Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations . Bruce Nissen, ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press:59-73.
52.
Piore Michael J. and Charles F. Sabel .1984. The Second Industrial Divide: Possibilities for Prosperity. New York: Basic Books.
53.
Reynolds, David.1999. "The Living Wage Movement Sweeps the Nation." Working USA3, no. 3 (September/October): 29-50.
54.
Robinson, Ian.2000. "Neoliberal Restructuring and U.S. Unions: Toward Social Movement Unionism?" Critical Sociology26, no. 1/2: 109-38.
55.
Rubinstein, Saul.2002. "Unions as Value-Adding Networks: Possibilities for the Future of U.S. Unionism." In The Future of Private Sector Unionism in the United States. James T. Bennett and Bruce E. Kaufman, eds. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe: 129-48.
56.
Rubinstein, Saul, Michael Bennett, and Thomas Kochan.1993. "The Saturn Partnership: Co-Management and the Reinvention of the Local Union." In Employee Representation: Alternatives and Future Directions. Bruce E. Kaufman and Morris M. Kleiner, eds. Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association: 339-70.
57.
Rubinstein, Saul A. and Thomas A. Kochan .2001. Learning from Saturn: Possibilities for Corporate Governance and Employee Relations. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press (Cornell University Press).
58.
Russo, John and Brian R. Corbin .1999. "Work, Organized Labor, and the Catholic Church: Boundaries and Opportunities for Community/Labor Coalitions " In Which Direction for Organized Labor? Essays on Organizing, Outreach, and Internal Transformations. Bruce Nissen, ed. Detroit: Wayne State University Press: 95-111.
59.
Slaughter, Jane.1999. "The New AFL-CIO: No Salvation from on High for the Working Stiff." In The Transformation of U.S. Unions : Voices, Visions, and Strategies from the Grassroots . Ray M. Tillman and Michael S. Cummings, eds. Boulder, CO : Lynne Rienner Publishers: 49-60.
60.
Slichter, Sumner H., James J. Healy, and E. Robert Livemash .1960. The Impact of Collective Bargaining on Management. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institute.
61.
Turner, Lowell and Richard W. Hurd .2001. "Building Social Movement Unionism: The Transformation of the American Labor Movement." In Rekindling the Movement: Labor's QuestforRelevance in the 21st Century. Lowell Turner, Harry C. Katz, and Richard W. Hurd, eds. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press:9-26.
62.
Verma, Anil and Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld .1993. "Joint Governance in the Workplace: Beyond Union-Management Cooperation and Worker Participation." In Employee Representation: Alternatives and Future DirectionsBruce E. Kaufman and Morris M. Kleiner eds. Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association:197-234.
63.
Waldinger, Roger, Chris Erickson, Ruth Milkman, Daniel J.B. Mitchell, Abel Valenzuela, Kent Wong, and Maurice Zeitlin .1998. "Helots No More: A Case Study of the Justice for Janitors Campaign in Los Angeles." In Organizing to Win: NewResearch on Union Strategies. Kate Bronfenbrenner, Sheldon Friedman, Richard W. Hurd, Rudolph A. Oswald, and Ronald L. Seeber, eds. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press:102-19.
64.
Waterman, Peter.1999. Globalisation, Social Movements, and the New Intemationalisms . London: Mansell.
65.
Waterman, Peter and Jane Wills.2001. Place, Space and the New Labour Intemationalisms. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
