Download or read book American Labor Unions in the Electoral Arena written by Herbert B. Asher and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2001-03-15 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are contemporary U.S. labor unions irrelevant, or in fact a changing force to be reckoned with as they grow into a new economy in a globalized America? Is the current political power exercised by U.S. labor unions more akin to the social movements of the sixties or the interest politics of the nineties? After winning the presidency of the AFL-CIO in 1995, John Sweeney and his colleagues have taken strides to make labor more important in the United States economically and politically, despite reduced membership. Here, four authors come together to survey the status of labor unions past, present, and future, nationally as well as through the microcosm of the labor situation in Ohio, one of the largest, most representative, and most electorally significant states in the country. The authors focus on union membership, leadership, political attitudes, strategies, and grassroots mobilization to paint a picture of union revitalization in a context of economic and social change. American labor still wields clout on Election Day, but union revitalization is a work in progress. For unions to matter every day to their members and leaders, they must consolidate their economic bases and rise to the challenges carefully documented in this book.
Download or read book American Labor Unions in the Electoral Arena written by Herbert B. Asher and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2001 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines American labor unions as a major political force which candidates, legislatures, executives, and elected judges at all levels of government have to take into account in a variety of ways. Asher and Randall B. Ripley of Ohio State U.), Eric S. Heberlig (U. of North Carolina), and Karen Snyder (president of a public opinion firm) also discuss union strategies to achieve political importance in the context of changing leadership, membership, and external conditions in society. c. Book News Inc.
Download or read book Labor in American Politics written by J. David Greenstone and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Study of the political activities of trade unions in the USA, with particular reference to the impact thereof in election campaigns of the democratic political party - examines the political behaviour of union members in urban areas and covers social change, historical, economic implications and sociological aspects and trends in the orientation of the American trade union movement in the age of consumer-producer class politics. Bibliography pp. Xxxi to xli and references.
Download or read book Who Rules America Now written by G. William Domhoff and published by Touchstone. This book was released on 1986 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author is convinced that there is a ruling class in America today. He examines the American power structure as it has developed in the 1980s. He presents systematic, empirical evidence that a fixed group of privileged people dominates the American economy and government. The book demonstrates that an upper class comprising only one-half of one percent of the population occupies key positions within the corporate community. It shows how leaders within this "power elite" reach government and dominate it through processes of special-interest lobbying, policy planning and candidate selection. It is written not to promote any political ideology, but to analyze our society with accuracy.
Download or read book Reshaping the Political Arena in Latin America written by Eduardo Silva and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2018-05-22 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neoliberalism changed the face of Latin America and left average citizens struggling to cope in many ways. Popular sectors were especially hard hit as wages declined and unemployment increased. The backlash to neoliberalism in the form of popular protest and electoral mobilization opened space for leftist governments to emerge. The turn to left governments raised popular expectations for a second wave of incorporation. Although a growing literature has analyzed many aspects of left governments, there is no study of how the redefinition of the organized popular sectors, their allies, and their struggles have reshaped the political arena to include their interests—until now. This volume examines the role played in the second wave of incorporation by political parties, trade unions, and social movements in five cases: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The cases shed new light on a subject critical to understanding the change in the distribution of political power related to popular sectors and their interests—a key issue in the study of postneoliberalism.
Download or read book Unions Matter written by Matthew Behrens and published by Between the Lines(CA). This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Embrace worker rights and build a better democracy
Download or read book Encyclopedia of U S Campaigns Elections and Electoral Behavior written by Kenneth F. Warren and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2008-04-04 with total page 1071 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Overall, a first-rate resource, and yes, pleasantly readable." —School Library Journal The Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior covers virtually everything one would want to know about American political campaigns. With more than 450 entries, these two comprehensive volumes present a significant array topics of campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior. The encyclopedia′s diverse content shows that although the subject matter of campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior is inherently related, each topic has a distinct focus. Key Features Presents topics in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner, intentionally avoiding unnecessary technical language Includes entries written by electoral behavior scholars from around the country Focuses on American campaigns, elections, and electoral behavior but also provides a culturally and politically diverse perspective of American democratic practices and institutions Offers a rich campaign history by looking at many colorful candidates, corrupt yet intriguing political machines, rapidly changing technologies, campaign organizations, and strategies Provides a description and scholarly analysis for all presidential elections, including state and general elections Presents and simplifies complicated election laws that govern federal, state, and local elections Examines various efforts throughout the decades to reform elections, especially from social upheaval and the resulting political realignments Includes extensive electoral research into the development of political opinions, attitudes, and ideologies in American voters Key Themes Ballot Issue Campaigns Campaigns, Elections and the Law Corruption in American Campaigns and Elections Electoral Behavior of Various Groups Local Campaigns and Elections Media′s Role in American Campaigns and Elections People Political Parties, Interest Groups, and American Campaigns and Elections Political Theory and Democratic Elections in America Polls, Public Opinion, and Campaigns and Elections Presidential Campaigns and Elections Reforming American Campaigns and Elections Running Political Campaigns: Management, Organization, and Strategies Social and Psychological Dynamics of Electoral Behavior State and Congressional Campaigns and Elections: History and State Profiles The Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior is an especially useful reference, published to coincide with the 2008 presidential election. This informative yet intriguing resource is a welcome addition to any academic or public library.
Download or read book Reorganizing Popular Politics written by Ruth Berins Collier and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2015-10-29 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A historic shift has occurred in the organizational structures through which the lower classes in Latin America express voice and find political representation. With the political and economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, networks of community-based associations and nongovernmental organizations replaced party-affiliated labor unions as the predominant organizations to which the lower classes turned. This volume examines the new “interest regime” in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Venezuela through two extensive surveys—one of individuals and one of associations—undertaken in those nations’ capital cities. Contrary to common perceptions, the new interest regime is neither a vibrant, autonomous civil society nor a set of weak, atomized organizations. Participation in associations is generally high, compared to “direct action” as a strategy for pursuing collective interests, and associations more frequently coordinate and engage the state than has sometimes been assumed. However, various forms of interaction with the state pose a classic trade-off between representation and state control, and the new interest regime is marked by representational distortion, in that the lower classes are less likely to use the new structures than the middle classes. Within these general patterns, distinct national models are emerging. This volume represents the most ambitious and systematic effort to date to examine individual participation and associational life in Latin America and to carry out a cross-national analysis of new forms of political representation.
Download or read book What Do Unions Do written by Thomas S. Barrows and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the best-known and most-quoted books ever written on labor unions is What Do Unions Do? by Richard Freeman and James Medoff. Published in 1984, the book proved to be a landmark because it provided the most comprehensive and statistically sophisticated empirical portrait of the economic and socio-political effects of unions, and a provocative conclusion that unions are on balance beneficial for the economy and society.The present volume represents a twentieth-anniversary retrospective and evaluation of What Do Unions Do? The objectives are threefold: to evaluate and critique the theory, evidence, and conclusions of Freeman and Medoff; to provide a comprehensive update of the theoretical and empirical literature on unions since the publication of their book; and to offer a balanced assessment and critique of the effects of unions on the economy and society. Toward this end, internationally recognized representatives of labor and management cover the gamut of subjects related to unions.Topics covered include the economic theory of unions; the history of economic thought on unions; the effect of unions on wages, benefits, capital investment, productivity, income inequality, dispute resolution, and job satisfaction; the performance of unions in an international perspective; the reasons for the decline of unions; and the future of unions. The volume concludes with a chapter by Richard Freeman in which he assesses the arguments and evidence presented in the other chapters and presents his evaluation of how What Do Unions Do? stands up in the light of twenty years of additional experience and research. This highly readable volume is a state-of-the-art survey by internationally recognized experts on the effects and future of labor unions. It will be the benchmark for years to come.
Download or read book The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics written by Peter L. Francia and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1995, promising a more active political presence for unions, John Sweeney was elected president of the AFL-CIO. Labor would develop a "new voice," one that could not be ignored or taken for granted by Democratic and Republican politicians. However, by the summer of 2005 opposition to Sweeney's leadership threatened to divide the labor movement. In The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics, Peter L. Francia discusses the effects of Sweeney's controversial tenure as president and assesses labor's influence on American political elections and legislation. Drawing on interviews with union and business leaders, as well as campaign-finance and public-opinion data, Francia argues that Sweeney has employed a more effective and expansive grassroots political operation than his predecessors. He challenges critics who dismiss Sweeney's efforts as a failure but cautions that the decline in union membership presents a serious crisis for the labor movement. When unions emphasize "grassroots" strategies they can effectively compete against the financial power of big business and can make a significant difference in congressional politics. Francia analyzes organized labor's political activities, its coalitions with other interest groups, and its influence on voter turnout, election results, and votes in Congress. He also examines the effects of Sweeney's embrace of progressive causes and labor's increasing willingness to challenge Democrats who vote against labor's interests. For all his successes, Sweeney's tenure has not been without its problems. Labor's presence in American politics is threatened by shrinking membership in unions. Francia suggests that if unions want to remain a viable political force in congressional politics, they must devote more resources to organizing workers.
Download or read book What Do Unions Do written by Thomas S. Barrows and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the best-known and most-quoted books ever written on labor unions is What Do Unions Do? by Richard Freeman and James Medoff. Published in 1984, the book proved to be a landmark because it provided the most comprehensive and statistically sophisticated empirical portrait of the economic and socio-political effects of unions, and a provocative conclusion that unions are on balance beneficial for the economy and society.The present volume represents a twentieth-anniversary retrospective and evaluation of What Do Unions Do? The objectives are threefold: to evaluate and critique the theory, evidence, and conclusions of Freeman and Medoff; to provide a comprehensive update of the theoretical and empirical literature on unions since the publication of their book; and to offer a balanced assessment and critique of the effects of unions on the economy and society. Toward this end, internationally recognized representatives of labor and management cover the gamut of subjects related to unions.Topics covered include the economic theory of unions; the history of economic thought on unions; the effect of unions on wages, benefits, capital investment, productivity, income inequality, dispute resolution, and job satisfaction; the performance of unions in an international perspective; the reasons for the decline of unions; and the future of unions. The volume concludes with a chapter by Richard Freeman in which he assesses the arguments and evidence presented in the other chapters and presents his evaluation of how What Do Unions Do? stands up in the light of twenty years of additional experience and research. This highly readable volume is a state-of-the-art survey by internationally recognized experts on the effects and future of labor unions. It will be the benchmark for years to come.
Download or read book Rust Belt Union Blues written by Lainey Newman and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2023-09-19 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the heyday of American labor, the influence of local unions extended far beyond the workplace. Unions were embedded in tight-knit communities, touching nearly every aspect of the lives of members—mostly men—and their families and neighbors. They conveyed fundamental worldviews, making blue-collar unionists into loyal Democrats who saw the party as on the side of the working man. Today, unions play a much less significant role in American life. In industrial and formerly industrial Rust Belt towns, Republican-leaning groups and outlooks have burgeoned among the kinds of voters who once would have been part of union communities. Lainey Newman and Theda Skocpol provide timely insight into the relationship between the decline of unions and the shift of working-class voters away from Democrats. Drawing on interviews, union newsletters, and ethnographic analysis, they pinpoint the significance of eroding local community ties and identities. Using western Pennsylvania as a case study, Newman and Skocpol argue that union members’ loyalty to Democratic candidates was as much a product of the group identity that unions fostered as it was a response to the Democratic Party’s economic policies. As the social world around organized labor dissipated, conservative institutions like gun clubs, megachurches, and other Republican-leaning groups took its place. Rust Belt Union Blues sheds new light on why so many union members have dramatically changed their party politics. It makes a compelling case that Democrats are unlikely to rebuild credibility in places like western Pennsylvania unless they find new ways to weave themselves into the daily lives of workers and their families.
Download or read book A Republic No More written by Jay Cost and published by Encounter Books. This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?” Franklin’s response: “A Republic—if you can keep it.” This book argues: we couldn’t keep it. A true republic privileges the common interest above the special interests. To do this, our Constitution established an elaborate system of checks and balances that disperses power among the branches of government, which it places in conflict with one another. The Framers believed that this would keep grasping, covetous factions from acquiring enough power to dominate government. Instead, only the people would rule. Proper institutional design is essential to this system. Each branch must manage responsibly the powers it is granted, as well as rebuke the other branches when they go astray. This is where subsequent generations have run into trouble: we have overloaded our government with more power than it can handle. The Constitution’s checks and balances have broken down because the institutions created in 1787 cannot exercise responsibly the powers of our sprawling, immense twenty-first-century government. The result is the triumph of special interests over the common interest. James Madison called this factionalism. We know it as political corruption. Corruption today is so widespread that our government is not really a republic, but rather a special interest democracy. Everybody may participate, yes, but the contours of public policy depend not so much on the common good, as on the push-and-pull of the various interest groups encamped in Washington, DC.
Download or read book Government Against Itself written by Daniel DiSalvo and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Daniel DiSalvo contends that the power of public sector unions is too often inimical to the public interest"--
Download or read book Rich Voter Poor Voter Red Voter Blue Voter written by Charles Prysby and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-04-06 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the changing relationship between social class and voting behavior in contemporary America. At the end of the 20th century, working-class white voters were significantly more Democratic than their middle-class counterparts, as they had been since the 1930s. By the second decade of the 21st century, that long-standing relationship had reversed: Republicans now do better among working-class whites. While Trump accentuated this trend, the change began before 2016, something that has not been fully appreciated or understood. Charles Prysby analyzes this development in American politics in a way that is understandable to a wide audience, not just scholars in this field. Drawing on a wealth of survey data, this study describes and explains the underlying causes of the change that has taken place over the past two decades, identifying how social class is directly related to partisan choice. Attitudes on race and immigration, on social and moral issues, and on economic and social welfare policies are all part of the explanation of this 21st century development in American political trends. Rich Voter, Poor Voter, Red Voter, Blue Voter: Social Class and Voting Behavior in Contemporary America is essential reading for scholars, students, and all others with an interest in American elections and voting behavior.
Download or read book Keeping the Republic written by Christine Barbour and published by CQ Press. This book was released on 2016-11-19 with total page 1880 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This refreshed and dynamic Eighth Edition of Keeping the Republic revitalizes the twin themes of power and citizenship by adding to the imperative for students to navigate competing political narratives about who should get what, and how they should get it. The exploding possibilities of the digital age make this task all the more urgent and complex. Christine Barbour and Gerald Wright, the authors of this bestseller, continue to meet students where they are in order to give them a sophisticated understanding of American politics and teach them the skills to think critically about it. The entire book has been refocused to look not just at power and citizenship but at the role that control of information and its savvy consumption play in keeping the republic.
Download or read book The American Midwest written by Andrew R. L. Cayton and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2006-11-08 with total page 1918 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first-ever encyclopedia of the Midwest seeks to embrace this large and diverse area, to give it voice, and help define its distinctive character. Organized by topic, it encourages readers to reflect upon the region as a whole. Each section moves from the general to the specific, covering broad themes in longer introductory essays, filling in the details in the shorter entries that follow. There are portraits of each of the region's twelve states, followed by entries on society and culture, community and social life, economy and technology, and public life. The book offers a wealth of information about the region's surprising ethnic diversity -- a vast array of foods, languages, styles, religions, and customs -- plus well-informed essays on the region's history, culture and values, and conflicts. A site of ideas and innovations, reforms and revivals, and social and physical extremes, the Midwest emerges as a place of great complexity, signal importance, and continual fascination.
