I n the last 40 years, union membership has declined from one third of the American labor force to less than one sixth. This 30-minute video uses historical footage and exclusive interviews with Victor Reuther, Ron Carey, Joseph Rauh, and other union activists to consider the reasons for the decline and ways to reverse it.
Major crises of American labor, from the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act and the McClellan hearings to the PATCO firings and the UAW's defeats at Nissan and Caterpillar, are explored in detail. Labor activists and progressive union officials suggest how the labor movement can be revived through internal reform and national political change.
"Engaging and remarkably authentic, Unions in Crisis takes a viewer
back, around, and forward in a history as vital as any we need to know if
we are to shape a finer future for the nation's workers and employers alike."
-Arthur B. Shostak, Professor of Sociology, Drexel University
"Unions in Crisis was topical, informative, and stimulated excellent
discussion and debate in my economics classes."
--Deb Figart, Associate Professor of Economics, Richard Stockton College
Rating: "The use of original
footage allows students to see historical moments, like John L. Lewis' reaction
to the Centralia mine disaster. This scene, along with footage of other
key players in union history, makes the narration become more than just
something that happened long ago."
--Video Rating Guide for Libraries
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