Would you have wings up in heaven to fly And starve here with rags on your back? The best general history of the labor movement I've read to date. This is a great book. This could have been a slog, but Dray can tell a story and does an excellent job of weaving the personal into the larger picture. The Billy Bragg version of this title is featured in the 2004 film Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train in which American Communist organizations march in Times Square. I'd suggest it even more so to those who think of themselves on the GOP's side because you really need to understand what people are fighting for - basic rights for decent working environments for everyone should never be seen as a bad thing, or an evil, or whatever they term it today. They sometimes had competition for the attention of the workers from religious organizations. Then come, do your share, like a man. A decent, although slightly Whiggish, overview of the history of the labor movement in the United States. There Is Power in a Union $ 21.00. Then join in the grand industrial band; It is amazing that much of the political climate we are dealing with today mirrors that of World War I, namely the attacks against unions for their self-determination by flag-waving faux patriots. I am very glad I did. Would you have mansions of gold in the sky And live in a shack way in the back? I *highly* recommend this book to anyone interested in the rights of working people, especially these days as those rights are so consistently and cruelly under attack from corporate and conservative interests, and from the GOP as a whole. Now the vote count starts, and the world is watching. Dray argues that US labor history has always been an extended conversation between ideology of workers transforming the world and one of pure prag. Description ; Additional information ; Reviews (0) Description. I meant to read it when it came out but I was concerned that it would be dry and felt I already had a good understanding of the topic. Outstanding book, strongly recommend! Century at Haymarket. Do your share, like a man. There's Power in a Union (the title taken from a popular union folk song) is the extensively researched, exhaustively descriptive history of unions and the labor movement in the United States. "There is Power in a Union" by Philip Dray tackles a difficult task: creating a thorough yet concise history of American labor history, and performs admirably. Title. More significantly, Dray shows how money and power often conspire to maintain the status quo. A hefty but interesting read. There are women marching through the streets in the 1800s with the press criticizing their morality just like today. I only hope more of those working for union representation will take the time to read this book. Very well written. What happens next depends on what direction trade union militants decide to take. I only hope more of those working for union representation will take the time to read this book. Century at Haymarket. An exhaustive and well-written history of labor in America. G C Would you have mansions of gold in the sky, D G and live in a shack, way in the back? Welcome back. There Is Power in a Union quantity. Shake hands with your boss and look Wise. For many years, Dropkick Murphys have used Bragg's song as one of the songs played before they perform. Organized labor, trapped in an "unhappy marriage" with the Democratic Party, is unable to effectively resist. The song has been recorded several times. There are FBI informants who become president of the USA and union bosses who help the CIA overthrow governments. But I saw that it was an assigned book for my nephew Harry for his labor history class at Penn, so I thought I would give it a go. A short summary of this paper. We spend all the time complaining "boo hoo the labor movement is dead, Reagan killed the labor movement", but from the vantage point of our lives, and the lives of our parents, we only can remember the golden age of the post-war boom. As the author takes us through American history as framed by the labor movement, there is a constant underlying theme of the complexities of intersectionalism within a system that loves to find rifts within the labor movement and (race, class, immigration, religion, gender, politics, war, patriotism, and every other) and rend them apart to the advantage of capital/corporations. There Is Power in a Union NPR coverage of There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America by Philip Dray. But what strikes me most after closing this seven hundred page history is how much remains the same as it did during the first factory strikes in America: the eternal struggle between capital and labor and the powerful forces at work to keep workers isolated, at risk and uncoordinated. Its just great and to the point. It moves on to the red scare and the dismantling of the IWW. If, for a change, you would have eggs and ham, Come, all ye workers, from every land, Books move with the Power and ease of `` there is Power in the sky live... Ry, Power in the US and important reading for any professional worker, if only to remind US how., an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UCLA, and has adapted just as as! Labor 's defining achievement and examines bitter defeats in America there is power in a union the Lowell mills of the movement... A comprehensive account of the workers from religious organizations War II was also enlightening to discover where much of 's... 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