ABSTRACT

How can American unions survive in our increasingly globalized business environment? With the trend toward multinational corporations, free trade pacts, and dismantling import barriers, organized labor has been steadily losing ground in the United States. This book argues that to reverse this trend, U.S. unions must create ties with workers and unions in other countries, and include the ever-increasing number of immigrant workers in their ranks. And it calls for a shift toward "social movement unionism, " which would change unions' orientation from exclusively market-focused and more toward social issues and rights.

chapter 1|12 pages

The Labor Movement in a New Globalized Environment

An Introduction

part I|85 pages

Cross-Border Organizing and Solidarity

part II|60 pages

Responding to Immigration

part III|114 pages

Internal Transformation

chapter 8|47 pages

Does Neoliberal Restructuring Promote Social Movement Unionism?

U.S. Developments in Comparative Perspective

chapter 9|28 pages

Citizenship Movement Unionism

For the Defense of Local Communities in the Global Age

chapter 10|11 pages

Concluding Thoughts

Internal Transformation?