Summer Book Reading
by | May 29, 2008
As summer approaches, here are a few books that would be worthwhile reading for anyone with an interest in the labor movement and the struggles of American workers, whether in today’s economy or in America’s past.
State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence – Philip M. Dine, an award-winning investigative reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, combines a strong narrative of the lives of union members with insightful analysis of American labor’s triumphs and recent struggles.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy says: “Longtime respected labor reporter Phil Dine makes a compelling case that a much stronger labor movement in the years ahead is indispensable for restoring fairness for working families and reducing the widening income gap that is threatening the American dream for so many millions of our families.”
The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker – New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse gives readers a behind-the-scenes view into the lives of American workers being squeezed by low wages, disappearing benefits and a lack of job security.
Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz says: “In this shocking and important book, Steven Greenhouse explains – and tells the stories – of how U.S. workers are paying the price for the lower labor standards and wages that are the result of poorly managed globalization.”
Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign – Noted labor historian and University of Washington-Tacoma Professor Michael K. Honey tells the story of the 1968 AFSCME sanitation workers strike in Memphis. Honey analyzes a strike that was a defining moment for our union and the modern labor and civil rights movements. Princeton University Professor Cornel West calls the book “A magisterial treatment of this neglected period.”
Going Down Jericho Road is the first-prize winner of the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, given by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial each year to the author whose work best embodies RFK’s commitment to justice and social change.
Honey will be discussing his book at AFSCME’s 38th International Convention in San Francisco this summer.
Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African-American History in and Around Washington, D.C. – Associated Press labor reporter Jesse J. Holland tells the forgotten story of how African Americans helped build some of our most important national landmarks, including the U.S. Capitol, the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.
“A cross between a history book and a travel guide,” says Roll Call’s Alison McSherry, adding: “The tome unmasks dozens of facts and stories about the role black people have played in the construction of Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.”
