The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor:
Birth of a New Workers’ Movement of Death Throes of the Old?

ISBN: 9781608460991
Price: $17.00
Order at: http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/the-civil-wars-in-us-labor

Between 2008 and 2010, the progressive wing of the U.S. labor movement tore itself apart in a series of internecine struggles. More than $140 million was expended, by all sides, on organizing conflicts that tarnished union reputations and undermined the campaign for real health care and labor law reform. Campus and community allies, along with many rank-and-file union members, were left angered and dismayed.

In this incisive new book, labor journalist Steve Early draws on scores of interviews and on his own union organizing experience to explain why and how these labor civil wars occurred. He examines the bitter disputes about union structure, membership rights, organizing strategy, and contract standards that enveloped SEIU, UNITE HERE, the California Nurses Association, and independent organizations like the Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico and the new National Union of Healthcare Workers in California. Along the way, we meet rank-and-file activists, local union officers, national leaders, and concerned friends of labor who were drawn into the fray.

Praise for Civil Wars:

“Steve Early’s book describes the kind of anti-union campaigning by management that makes passage of the Employee Free Choice Act so necessary. Early’s account of how and why labor law reform has been stalled for the third time in the last 32 years should be required reading for all workers’ rights advocates. As the author notes, collective bargaining faces private sector extinction. To protect the right to organize, we still need changes in the Wagner Act itself—not just better appointments to the NLRB.”
- U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

“Civil Wars in U.S. Labor is based on thorough reportage, a lifetime of labor activism, and a deep commitment to union democracy and militancy. It is both partisan and thoroughly researched, which makes Early’s book and excellent guide to contemporary labor history, even if you don’t agree with all his conclusions.’”
- Nelson Lichtenstein, professor of history, UC Santa Barbara and author, State of The Union

“Civil Wars in U.S. Labor critiques a union culture that privileges control over the practice of democracy. With an honest eye, the author adds an essential chapter to the long history of rank-and-file efforts to keep unionism vibrant and engaged... compelling reading.”
- Vanessa Tait, author, Poor Workers’ Unions

“Steve Early takes us inside one of the most important struggles for union democracy in recent years. His book is a reflective, self-critical look at how radical reformers have shaped today’s union movement and how some have contributed to the problems we set out to correct.”
- Fernando Gapasin, Labor educator, activist, and co-author of Solidarity Divided

"Civil Wars is as lively as it is detailed... [providing] insights into just what the labor movement can become when democracy takes hold and members get active. It will infuriate some, but inspire many more to build and transform their unions."
- Kim Moody, author, U.S. Labor in Trouble and Transition

“Although some union leaders may take issue with Steve Early’s blunt and forthright criticism of organized labor, no one can deny the clear and convincing case he makes for labor unity. As Early’s reporting on the fate of Employee Free Choice demonstrates, a union movement that can’t stay united behind basic principles and rights for its members eventually may find itself bereft of any principles, rights … or members.”
- Linda K. Foley, former president, The Newspaper Guild/CWA, and former member of AFL-CIO Executive Council

“Early's journalism is powerful because he has been in the trenches himself fighting to organize workers and make unions more democratic. This book is a must read, particularly for young organizers trying to make sense of contemporary American trade unionism."
- Peter Olney, Director of Organizing, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)

"Steve Early is not just another scholar situated outside the labor movement. For more than thirty-five years, he helped do the hard work of organizing and collective bargaining. His latest book confirms that there is no one with a better understanding of contemporary union problems. When he warns about the dangers of undemocratic practices, sweetheart deals with employers, and over reliance on the Democratic Party, we had better listen."
- Michael Yates, author, Why Unions Matter

“Steve Early’s account of recent troubles within and between progressive unions is an engaging and original work. Early is the most tenacious, free-thinking journalist covering labor today, respected by friend and foe alike. Civil Wars is essential to understanding how union centralization and top-down control have failed as a strategy for revitalizing the labor movement.”
- Immanuel Ness, professor, Brooklyn College, CUNY, editor, WorkingUSA and author, Immigrants, Unions and The New U.S. Labor Movement.

“This is Steve Early at his finest, committed, principled and practical. In Civil Wars, the true SEIU is revealed- no holds barred - its incarnation of corporate unionism is laid bare for all to see. Then, the author follows the remarkable rise of the National Union of Healthcare Workers. His book is a passionate appeal for clean, decent, democratic trade unionism and much more –it makes the case, urgently, honestly, for workers’ power.”
- Cal Winslow, labor historian and author, Labor’s Civil War In California

“Steve Early shows how leading unions are grappling with the trade-offs between contract standards and growth in the private sector. If the quid pro quo for organizing rights includes limiting workers' ability to build a real union and fight for better conditions in the future, that's a serious problem in any labor organization, including my own.”
- Sandy Pope, President of Teamsters Local 805 and candidate for IBT President

“Civil Wars in U.S. Labor is a passionate, thoroughly researched indictment of recent misdeeds by America's second largest labor organization, the Service Employees International Union. It’s also a cri de coeur for union democracy, not just in principle or as a fine sentiment, but in highly practical ways that are illustrated throughout this rigorously-argued book. Anyone who cares about the future of American labor should read (and study) this 21st Century ‘J’accuse!’”
- Jack Metzgar, professor emeritus, Roosevelt University and author, Striking Steel

“Civil Wars penetrates the purple haze of confusion about a major union’s painful and destructive estrangement from its own members, other labor organizations, and longtime campus and community allies.”
- Randy Shaw, founder, Tenderloin Housing Clinic, co-editor of BeyondChron, and author, Beyond The Fields

“Democracy means having a choice and we, the rank-and-file members of NUHW, have been in a great struggle to insure that we do have a choice of unions in California hospitals and nursing homes. Steve Early's book shows that, when workers are faced with dictatorship, they will do what it takes to safeguard their rights and liberties.”
- Brenda Washington, LVN and NUHW Executive Board Member

“Many who join the labor movement and participate in its critical struggles discover, sooner or later, that we are a movement with some major shortcomings. Invariably, if you speak out about these internal problems, you will be asked — or told — to keep them under wraps. Not Steve Early. In Civil Wars, he takes a hard look at recent union conflicts that became outright fiascos and a source of widespread political outrage.”
- Chris Townsend, Political Action Director, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE)

“Steve Early was one of the few North American journalists to report on the struggle of Puerto Rican teachers, when they came under attack by a tainted governor and his political ally, SEIU. As Early demonstrates, unions that combine participatory democracy, member engagement and aggressive action in the workplace provide a much-needed model for the rest of the labor movement.”
- Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, Puerto Rico Solidarity Network and Labor Notes Policy Committee

“This is a much needed piece of journalism. The author’s perspective on how ‘60s activists shaped the labor movement, for better or worse, adds both historical depth and personal flavor to the larger story. Civil Wars deserves a wide audience.”
- Kate Titus, former Change To Win organizer

“Civil Wars doesn’t just make a principled argument for union democracy and rank-and-file militancy, it demonstrates that they are the key to organizing the unorganized and revitalizing working class resistance in an age of global capitalism. Labor activists and scholars, in both the United States and Canada, will find this book invaluable.”
- Peter Brogan, Department of Geography, York University and founding member, Greater Toronto Workers' Assembly

“Civil Wars shows how tens of thousands of low-wage women - who care for the young, the aged, and the infirm—have waged successful organizing campaigns, only to find that they lacked a sufficient voice in their own union. This is a story that only Steve Early could have told, with his insider’s access and rank-and-file orientation. There is no better guide to American labor’s continuing infirmities than this often-controversial but always insightful commentator.”
- Jane LaTour, Former Director, Association for Union Democracy Women’s Project and author, Sisters in the Brotherhoods

“My own labor council has seen raids on affiliates, driven by forces far from the lives of the workers who meet in our union hall each month. Union civil warfare is often viewed as mere personality conflicts or disputes over ‘jurisdiction.’ Early looks deeper, at the tough debates about how to rebuild the labor movement and the nature of the movement we are trying to build.”
- Jeff Crosby, President, IUE-CWA Local 201, and North Shore Central Labor Council

“If the American labor movement were succeeding, by any measure, its leaders might be justified in dismissing Steve Early's vivid reports from the front lines . But we're not succeeding so it's beneficial to have a perspective - from inside labor - that is very different from that of other labor commentators, in journalism and academia, who have pandered to the top too much and overlooked what's happening at the bottom of leading unions. Civil Wars reminds us what grassroots democracy looks and sounds like.”
- Suzan Erem, author, Labor Pains: Inside America's New Union Movement

“This account of one of the largest trusteeships in U.S. labor history, and related intra-union conflict, forces us to examine hard questions about workers’ ability to run their own unions and, at the same time, beat the boss.”
- Stephanie Luce, The Murphy Institute, City University of New York

“If our goal is to build a more vibrant, democratic labor movement, we need to think about what kind of unions we want and how to get them. Early accurately describes the pitfalls and possibilities of union reform, drawing on more than 35 years of personal experience in several different unions. Readers may disagree with his conclusions—-and may be infuriated by some of his observations. But his reporting makes an effective case for union democracy, while pointing out the shortcomings of centralization and top-down control as strategy for union revitalization.”
- Judith Schneider, attorney and president, Association for Union Democracy