Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial UnionsFrom the late 1930s through the mid-1950s, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) brought together America's working men and women under a united class banner. Of the 38 CIO unions, 18 were 'left-wing' or 'Communist-dominated'. Yet the political struggle between the CIO's 'Communist dominated' and right-leaning unions was immensely divisive and self-destructive. How did the Communists win, hold, and wield power in the CIO unions? Did they subordinate the needs of workers to those of the Soviet regime? The authors of this book, first published in 2002, provide testable answers to these questions with historically specific quantitative analyses of data on the CIO's origins, internal struggles, and political relations. They find that among the CIO unions, the Communists were more egalitarian, the most progressive on class, race, and gender issues, and leading fighters in struggles to enlarge the freedom and enhance the human dignity of America's workers. |
Contents
The Congress of Industrial Organizations Left Right and Center | 1 |
Who Gets the Bird? | 24 |
Insurgency Radicalism and Democracy | 54 |
Lived Democracy UAW Ford Local 600 | 95 |
Red Company Unions? | 121 |
RankandFile Democracy and the Class Struggle in Production | 159 |
Pin Money and Pink Slips | 189 |
The Big 3 and Interracial Solidarity | 212 |
The Red and the Black | 232 |
Conclusion An American Tragedy | 266 |
Epilogue The Third Labor Federation That Never Was | 297 |
References | 328 |
| 368 | |
| 370 | |
Other editions - View all
Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial Unions Judith Stepan-Norris,Maurice Zeitlin No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
active affiliates agreements allies amalgamation American analysis anti-Communist Association bargaining called camp CIO's committee Communist Communist-led compared constitutional contracts convention democracy democratic determining district earlier effects elections employers employment equal especially established executive fact factions federation force Ford Foster four grievance History independent industrial unions industry insurgent international unions issue John labor labor movement later leaders leadership locals major March Matles measures membership movement Negro odds officers opposition organizing party party's percent period plant political practices president Press production progressive prolabor provisions question racial radical ratio Relations reported represented result Reuther rival says shifting social solidarity standard steel strike struggle Table third trade union UE's unionists United University votes wage women workers World York
Popular passages
Page 362 - Local Union 1239, affiliated with the International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW-CIO).