ABSTRACT
Difficultanddemandingcircumstanceshavepromptedlaborandcommunity organizationstoincreasinglyforgealliancesduringthepast30years.Successfullabor-communitycoalitionbuildinghappensbecauseofaconvergenceof leadership,effectiveorganization,andpoliticaleconomiccircumstances.In thischapter,relevantideasinpoliticaleconomicandsocialmovementtheory areexaminedtohelpexplainthepoliticalandsocialsignificanceofcoalitions. Labor-communitycoalitionsarepartofanoverallchallengefromcivilsociety tothedominanceofbusinessandindustryinpublicpolicy.Politicaleconomic contextisconsidered,includingchangesincapitalistdevelopment,governmentregulation,andrelatedchangesinthelaborandenvironmentalmovementsduringthepastthirtyyears.Ofparticularimportanceistheroleof governmentinenablingcivilsocietycoalitions,providingpoliticalopportunitiesforcollectiveaction,whileatthesametimesupportingcapitalist development.Finally,thischapterconsiderstheorganizationalcapacityof collaborativeprojectstomobilizeresourcesatdifferentgeographicscales, andtobuildsolidaritybyappealingtouniversalinterestswhileovercommg particularinterests.
