The power of unions in workers' lives and in the American political
system has declined dramatically since the 1970s. In recent years,
many have argued that the crisis took root when unions stopped
reaching out to workers and workers turned away from unions. But
here Lane Windham tells a different story. Highlighting the
integral, often-overlooked contributions of women, people of color,
young workers, and southerners, Windham reveals how in the 1970s
workers combined old working-class tools--like unions and labor
law--with legislative gains from the civil and women's rights
movements to help shore up their prospects. Through close-up
studies of workers' campaigns in shipbuilding, textiles, retail,
and service, Windham overturns widely held myths about labor's
decline, showing instead how employers united to manipulate weak
labor law and quash a new wave of worker organizing.
Recounting how employees attempted to unionize against overwhelming
odds,
Knocking on Labor's Door dramatically refashions the
narrative of working-class struggle during a crucial decade and
shakes up current debates about labor's future. Windham's story
inspires both hope and indignation, and will become a must-read in
labor, civil rights, and women's history.