| Reviews / Comptes Rendus | Labour/Le Travail, 50

Reviews / Comptes Rendus

Lowell Turner, Harry Katz and Richard Hurd, eds., Rekindling the Movement: Labor's Quest for Relevance in the 21st Century (Ithaca and London: ILR Press, 2001)

ANYONE CONCERNED about the state of the American labour movement is likely to find reason for both hope and despair in this volume. Hope may be found in the evidence that union revitalization efforts have in some cases produced expansive notions of solidarity, and innovative new structures to express them. But the continuing willingness of too many unionists to defend inertia, privilege, and bureaucracy — even in the most desperate circumstances — can produce little but despair. The editors of Rekindling the Movement have captured both tendencies in a comprehensive selection of articles, and consequently they present a mixed but probably fair reading of US labour's current prospects.	1
The book contains thirteen chapters, framed by an editorial introduction and afterword. Most of these have been cleared of acronyms and jargon, so they should be accessible to a wide audience. All of them deal with union revitalization — pitched here as some combination of structural reform, cultural change, and organizing.	2
In an opening section, two of the editors (Turner and Hurd) provide a broad reading of social movement unionism that underlines labour's historic reliance on the vitality of other social forces. Labour grew as it connected to the surge of popular unrest in the 1930s, but missed the next wave in the 1960s, when "social movement energy" penetrated only public sector unions. (12) Elsewhere unions "stagnated and decayed." (21) Labour is again reaching out — to the anti-globalization movement, and through organizing, for example — but its prospects remain uncertain. Ferocious employer resistance, active "deunionization," and outflanking investment in non-union areas have confined American unions (despite membership gains) to only 13.5% of the total workforce. The figures are worse for the private sector — only 9.5% in 1999. (24)	3
Numbers like these make a compelling case for a radical reorientation and redesign of US labour. Two chapters by Charles Heckscher and Dorothy Sue Cobble suggest that some unions may have to reconfigure themselves as hiring halls and/or employment agencies to meet the needs of a mobile workforce. In a later chapter, Eric Parker and Joel Rogers highlight the "new demand for worker support systems that operate on at least a multi-employer basis, clarify the terms of labor-market demand, assist workers in gaining job access and advancement, and set higher standards for firm conduct." (270)	4
It is noteworthy that these authors come to similar conclusions from three very different perspectives. For Heckscher they are part of an effort to connect labour to associations like "Working Today," which he says aims to be the "'one big union' for a mobile workforce." (76) He also believes strikes are obsolete, and urges labour to pressure employers with publicity, lawsuits, and financial (pension fund) leverage instead. (70–71) Parker and Rogers argue that labour should help "build the high road" (i.e., a skilled, cutting edge workforce) in urban centres. (271–72) Theirs is what Greg Albo calls a "progressive competitiveness" strategy that tries to rebuild labour's old strongholds while hoping to set an example elsewhere. For Cobble, ironically, the labour movement can be made more inclusive by returning to the "lost ways" of unions long criticized for their exclusivity. Union-run hiring halls organized by occupation and geography are more likely to engage the growing contingent workforce of subcontracted "non-employees," she suggests. (85, 89)	5
Reaching out to new groups in new ways challenges the institutions and practices of collective bargaining. Many of these authors embrace that challenge. Cobble notes that early labour movements (even the AFL) did not represent only those the law defined as employees. Collective power often emerged from "self-constituted communities" that transcended boundaries imposed by employers and the courts. (88) Heckscher's case is founded on the need to recognize "natural associations" like those springing up to represent workers by identity, profession, and geography. (74) Paul Johnston is encouraged by a new approach that "mobilizes and represents working people beyond the boundaries of the bargaining unit, in dealings not limited to employers and on issues not limited to the scope of recognition." (50) And Cobble urges unions to emulate teachers and other professionals by challenging management rights, and restoring "craft prerogatives" or "peer management" on the shop floor. (85–86)	6
All of these are expansive impulses, but they are not without their problems and contradictions. Can organizing from above really respect natural associations? An excessive respect for self-organizing is likely to leave the weakest and most marginal workers unorganized. Are craft prerogatives really a good model for self-management? In Canada, teachers, nurses, and other female-dominated professions have found it relatively easy to secure control over matters related to disciplining their own members, but much harder to gain any input into "higher" management functions that shape their relations with clients. And, finally, if the gates are to be opened, who is to be let in? Cobble gives a succinct answer: "any organization doing the work of the labor movement should be part of the labor movement." (90)	7
Johnston's chapter frames the problem slightly differently, and gets to the heart of the matter. His title asks "organize for what?" and his answer is explicitly political. The central purpose of labour, as a diverse group of movements, and of many other social movements, is to "defend, exercise, and extend the boundaries of citizenship." (35) His is a deep reading of citizenship that includes at least six varieties — civil, political, social, educational, economic, and cultural. (41) Struggles in all these fields, he says, have begun to converge around efforts to "defend and rebuild local communities in an increasingly globalized public order." (35) Johnson recognizes that union revitalization must be part of a larger struggle to extend and deepen democratic politics. A return to self-constituted communities requires rethinking both terms. What does community mean? How can communities govern themselves?	8
These insights are not shared by some of the contributors to this volume. Bill Fletcher and Richard Hurd for example, discuss attempts to change the "organizational culture" of unions as if this challenge was indistinguishable from that faced by corporate managers. James Shoch lauds political victories by labour that seem to rely crucially on astute purchases of corrupt politicians.	9
An undercurrent of pessimism becomes evident after the first four chapters. Later ones stress bureaucratic struggles and obstacles, grassroots opposition to central organizing, and organizing motives based more on the real prospect of extinction than on brave new visions. This trend culminates at the end of the book in a troubling contribution by Harry Katz. His afterword attacks social movement unionism as a description of, or a prescription for, American labour. It lauds the "practical and pragmatic political activities" of business unionism, citing the slimy vote buying mentioned above. And it argues that "radical policies" will not sell on or off the shop floor because workers remain profoundly conservative. (329–31) Katz concludes that union revitalization "will be an extremely difficult uphill struggle," but he compliments labour for suppressing internal warfare and keeping its debates civil. (349, 345)	10
Katz's position is remarkably similar to one taken by George Meany in 1972 (and cited in this volume): "Why should we worry about organizing groups of people who do not want to be organized? If they prefer to have others speak for them and make the decisions which affect their lives, without effective participation on their part, that is their right ...." (157) This argument begs many questions that have been answered in this volume and elsewhere. The fact that it is still being advanced is discouraging, to say the least.	11
Yet this tone is not typical of Rekindling the Movement. Readers will find fresh new thinking here, and organizing stories drawn from many corners of the workforce. Kate Bronfenbrenner and Tom Juravich describe the Steelworkers' experience, which cautions that there is no "one best way" to win organizing campaigns. (225–27) Gary Chaison argues that, contrary to expectations, mergers can sometimes energize unions. (254) Fletcher and Hurd note that some unions have forced employers to pay for organizing through release time for union duties, while others have offered their members cash bounties for new recruits. (201, 203) The international dimensions of organizing are also given serious consideration, especially in chapters by Ruth Milkman and Kent Wong (on immigrant workers in California), and Lance Compa (on international labour standards).	12
Rekindling the Movement will undoubtedly be an important and useful tool for organizers and those who study them. It should help rekindle the imagination as well.	13
Greg McElligott McMaster University

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