Early’s Provocative Assessment of the U.S. Labor MovementRandy Shawbyline‚ May. 28‚ 2009Steve Early is known for his strong opinions on the United States labor movement, and his often biting critiques of Andy Stern’s leadership of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). But Early’s new book offers an amalgamation of essays and diversity of perspectives that include even strongly pro-SEIU assessments, and even those who disagree with Early’s core premises will benefit from reading his arguments. Embedded with Organized Labor surveys nearly every prominent book written about the U.S. labor movement over the past three decades. Early’s thoughtful, critical, and, yes, often controversial analysis of the labor movement is likely unmatched in any other single volume, and the best part is that he consistently uses labor’s past decisions and strategies as a guide for future action. Whether you share his conclusions or not, Early has given book groups and labor activists a wealth of material to discuss in every chapter, contributing to a much needed debate on the best strategies for building worker power. |