Sirotablog
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. David writes about political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties.
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September 3, 2007 9:05 AM
Discovering Labor's Untold Story: A Labor Day Reading List
Last night, I officially turned in 70 percent of my next book. Its working title is The Uprising and it is scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2008. I won't say much more about it now, other than to say it is very different from Hostile Takeover, and very different from the political books out now or coming out in the next many months. It is all original, firsthand reporting from some of the most interesting and sometimes frightening corners of America. The only thing it really has in common with Hostile Takeover is that the scope is bipartisan, and most of the focus is - again, unlike most political books - not on the Washington inside game nor on the elite cocktail party circuit of donors, pundits and self-important political "experts."
I have about 7 more weeks to finish the book. In that time, I'm also launching my nationally syndicated, weekly newspaper column through Creators Syndicate. So it is going to be a very, very busy time for me. I sort of feel like Uncle Frank in One Crazy Summer. Though I'm not waiting to win a radio call-in show contest like Uncle Frank, I have spent my entire summer inside obsessing. My office bears a strange resemblance to Uncle Frank's room, sans cigarette smoke.
I'll do my best to keep my postings up to standard, of course - including regular updates on the fight to end the Iraq War, the fight to stop the war on the middle class, the shifting dynamics of Land Politics, and the fight to halt the bipartisan push for more job-killing, environment-destroying, lobbyist-written trade deals (I've got an update coming on this latter one tomorrow).
In the meantime, on this Labor Day, let me suggest some books that I think are must-reads for anyone wishing to understand unions and the labor movement. The list is in the extended entry.
- Labor's Untold Story: Put out by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, this is like a bible of the labor movement. It's been around for years, and remains one of the most important works out there. You'll read this book and realize what a sham your high school history books really are - because as the title says, this story truly is untold.
- Which Side Are You On?: One of the best books I've ever read, both for the sheer talent of its author and for the journey it takes the reader on. Author Thomas Geoghegan (who I sincerely believe is one of the top 5 writers in America today) draws on his experience as a labor lawyer to show us through his experiences exactly what challenges face the labor movement in the modern era. Geoghegan's The Secret Lives of Citizens is an unofficial sequel to this book - and it is just as good.
- A People's History of the United States: I almost didn't include this Howard Zinn masterpiece in this list, just because it is so well known that I initially felt that I didn't even have to mention it because everyone knows it.
- The Selling of Free Trade: John R. MacArthur's book is a page-turning look at how labor's agenda is regularly run over and crushed by both parties in Washington. For those who think people like Bill Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, Bill Richardson and the Clintonite machine was/is friends to American workers, reading this book might make you realize how wrong that conclusion really is. Slightly more outdated - but equally compelling - is Bill Greider's Who Will Tell the People?
- John L. Lewis - A Biography: Lewis was probably the most important labor leader in the last 100 years, building up the United Mine Workers into a powerhouse during the 20th century. I have only just started this book, but I have read enough to know it gives you a good sense of why organized labor has been so important to all the things we take for granted now (say, for instance, the weekend) - and why it is no coincidence that the right-wing war on the middle class has accelerated at the very same time organized labor has declined in membership.
In an era where the Beltway media either ignores organized labor entirely, or paints unions as just another set of chess players in the Washington game, these books show readers why the labor movement is so much more - and so integral to this country's future.
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About David Sirota
David Sirota is a political journalist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist at Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover. He lives in Denver, Colorado. His daily blog can be found at CREDO Action. He contributes regularly to the Denver Post's Web site, is a senior editor at In These Times magazine and is working on his second book. He has been profiled in Newsweek and the Rocky Mountain News and is widely known for his reporting on political corruption, globalization and working-class economic issues often ignored by both of America's political parties. Sirota serves as co-chair of the Progressive States Network, a 501(c)3 organization that supports state legislators and that is a partner of CREDO.
You can subscribe to Sirota's e-mail newsletter by going to davidsirota.com and signing up in the lefthand corner. To find out more about Sirota, download his official biography or see his recent media appearances. You can e-mail him at sirota@credoaction.com.
The views expressed on this blog are his own, and do not necessarily represent the views of Working Assets (publisher of CREDO Action) or the institutions Sirota works for.
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Discussion
Here's a shocker about Labor and its mistakes which led to its downfall. They supported the Military Industrial Complex since WWII and never sided with PEACE. As James Carroll points out:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/03/3579/
In the United States, the most revealing failure of the labor movement to live up to its foundational ideal involves labor’s role as a pillar of the military-industrial complex. The engine of the American economy is defense spending. For two generations, but especially since the end of the Cold War, the nation has cannibalized itself by investing its best minds and most of its treasure in a profoundly counterproductive military establishment.
Usually this is blamed on the so-called “iron triangle” of corporations, Congress, and the Pentagon, which keep trillions of dollars circulating through the unbroken loop. But the labor movement has long been an essential part of this corrupt system, with union lobbyists playing their crucial role in keeping the lucrative defense contracts coming.
What would have happened at the end of the Cold War, when the expected “peace dividend” might have rescued education or rebuilt the nation’s infrastructure, if union leaders, backed by the grass-roots labor movement, had demanded an end to the Pentagon boondoggle? The conversion of a military-based economy, serving no real purpose beyond its own enrichment, to an economy of authentic productivity would have transformed foreign policy in the nick of time (no war in Iraq), and provided resources for homefront infrastructure (no failed dikes in New Orleans, or collapsed bridges in Minneapolis).
It did not happen, for a lot of reasons - one of which is the hollowed out commitment of a movement that should have known better. What this nation needs is a revitalized reason to celebrate Labor Day.
It was a sad day on Friday when the Appeals Court in California denied the Teamsters' Truckers Union appeal, thus blocking their initiative to stop Mexican truckers from driving in US (from Mexico).
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070901-9999-1b1mextruck.html
Ironic that it would happen just before Labor Day.
In regards to the Mexican trucking thing, go check Dkos and see what the party hacks think - which is basically a collective yawn.
What a bunch of stupid fuck elitists Democrats have turned out to be. They don't give a fuck about this country or its people.
I hope one day that all those Kossacks get thrown out of work or have their trusts funds canceled. It would do those pricks a world of good.
And its funny how silent the Democratic Congressmen are on this. No sign of Reid, Pelosi, or that lickspittle Dean. Guess those folks are really showing their true colors today.
Fuck'em.
Nathan,
In this country, peace is never deemed profitable. Our so-called "capitalistic" society puts profit before principle. Since war generates more profits for the wealthy elite compared to peace, peace is looked at as a "threat" even by Labor itself as Carrol implies. It is rare that Labor's alliance with the war profiteers back in the 20th century is even discussed. In the 21st century, Labor is not needed for the war profiteers but instead ILLEGAL SLAVE/IGNORANT Labor is used. For all the trouble the military went through to lower the standards for recruiting including criminal and drug background checking, it's no surprise the military will keep hiring skinheads and illegalized immigrants who have no regards for people's rights, liberties, freedoms, or even the Constitution itself. Too bad Labor had to learn its lessons of siding with peace first the hard way, that is if they have should any sign of it. So far, I don't see a single labor union showing any sign of standing up to the ILLEGAL war in Iraq and they're awfully silent about Iran. Maybe George Lakoff had a point when he said that progressives had better learn to get their issues together and connect the dots just like the conservatives do.
waltc,
Pelosi and Reid and even Dean (himself a former member of the DLC just like Gore) were trained to be strict authoritarian moralists just like the GOP and even a great deal of the Democratic Party. All they want to do is bide the time to cash in on the power grab, not that they'll put power to use wisely for the public either. Take their stands on the issues and connect the dots and you'll see how out of whack they really are.
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