ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes how a small union transformed a "garden variety plant closing" into a national issue by exposing one way in which the US federal government sponsors job loss in the United States. The union won a substantial $24 million settlement from the company in an unprecedented legal action and led a tax reform effort that resulted in one of the few meaningful legislative measures to address "runaway shops." Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers (OCAW's) successful media campaign helped to minimize costs while it maximized the impact of expenditures the union did make. The personal costs are more difficult to quantify but no less real. Beyond the American Home Products Corporation (AHP) settlement, OCAW's campaign against Section 936 was a mission to eliminate the federal sponsorship of job loss. AHP's letter shook the confidence and resolve of many members and caused underlying doubts about the campaign to surface.
