For Labor's Sake

In this volume 22 men and six women from 20 international unions stand in for several thousand counterparts and explain what being an inside reformer means today in the American labor movement. More interested in correcting labor's shortcomings and helping to chart a course for the future than in finger-pointing and blame-assigning, the change-agents help replace authoritarian styles of leadership with participative modes. They assure an adequate supply of valued resources for innovative projects. Pragmatic and rewarding, their reforms help broaden the limits of what other unionists see as achievable and begin to desire for their own situation. Intent on proving to themselves and everybody else that labor is not behind the curve, and that there is life beyond pain, they promote the kind of creativity without which organized labor cannot long survive. And they have learned how to rebound from disappointments to try a second and third time, improving their effort with each successive attempt. They do so without rancor or self-disparagement. Instead, each is preoccupied with uncovering lessons, uncovering pointers and guidelines well-worth calling to the attention of fellow unionists and supportive students of labor alike. Given the state of siege with which the American labor movement struggles it is vital that its every component-from the AFL-CIO through to the thousands of locals of its 87 affiliates-be as sound as possible: Each should be member-centered, effective, and future-oriented. Each should operate with open arms, more caring ways, better uses of better information, stronger structures, finer TQC programs, smarter job loss responses, more potent political action, sounder internal democracy, fairer and more unionism than ever before. An extraordinary effort on this behalf is now well underway, one for which the volume's contributors are owed much credit.