The Unions and the Democrats

Although labor unions have faced a decline in membership in recent decades, they have not necessarily lost their political clout. This timely book illuminates the inner dynamics of labor's relationship to the American political system over the past generation. It examines organized labor from the Johnson administration to the end of Clinton's first term, showing that labor's alliance with the Democratic Party has endured despite changes in the economy and the revival of conservatism. Drawing on extensive interviews with union leaders and lobbyists, Taylor E. Dark provides a historical perspective often lacking in studies of union political involvement. He compares the relationship of presidents Johnson, Carter, and Clinton with labor and analyzes cases of union involvement in legislative lobbying, executive decision-making, and both congressional and presidential elections. The book explores such topics as the effects of political reform on union power, the development of union legislative goals, and the impact of unions on economic policymaking, and also evaluates the controversy over union campaign spending in the 1996 elections.
It demonstrates that labor's evolving alliance with the Democrats continues to shape America.