
From Mission to Microchip
A History of the California Labor Movement
Fred Glass(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 28. June 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
544 pages
978-0-520-28841-6 (ISBN)
Description
There is no better time than now to consider the labor history of the Golden State. While other states face declining union enrollment rates and the rollback of workers' rights, California unions are embracing working immigrants, and voters are protecting core worker rights. What's the difference? California has held an exceptional place in the imagination of Americans and immigrants since the Gold Rush, which saw the first of many waves of working people moving to the state to find work. From Mission to Microchip unearths the hidden stories of these people throughout California's history. The difficult task of the state's labor movement has been to overcome perceived barriers such as race, national origin, and language to unite newcomers and natives in their shared interest. As chronicled in this comprehensive history, workers have creatively used collective bargaining, politics, strikes, and varied organizing strategies to find common ground among California's diverse communities and achieve a measure of economic fairness and social justice.
This is an indispensable book for students and scholars of labor history and history of the West, as well as labor activists and organizers.
This is an indispensable book for students and scholars of labor history and history of the West, as well as labor activists and organizers.
Reviews / Votes
"[Glass] takes on California's industrial history, the whole beastly golden expanse of it, and tries to figure out what connects the struggles of workers across time and space... [he] has managed to catalogue the most meaningful moments for working people in the biggest state in the union." East Bay Express "Use this book. Read it and teach the young. Our future will be better if you do." -- Bill Morgan California Federation of Teachers "Anyone involved in social justice work sooner or later finds her interests intersect with the labor movement ... There's no better roadmap to this complex animal than Fred's book ... it's inspiring for the work ahead of us now." -- Lincoln Cushing California Studies Association "In this comprehensive look at California workers-their job experiences and living conditions, antagonisms among them and with the powers that be, their leaders and the rank and file, politicians who claimed to speak for them and some who actually did, their unions and allies, and much more-Fred Glass does for [labor] history what Taylor Branch did in his trilogy of the civil rights movement, The King Years. From Mission to Microchip is filled with stories, analysis, history and data. It is a good and important story, well told." Boom CaliforniaMore details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
50 b-w images
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
771 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-28841-6 (9780520288416)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
06/2016
1st Edition
University of California Press
€73.04
Shipment within 10-20 days

E-Book
06/2016
1st Edition
University of California Press
€33.99
Available for download
Person
Fred B. Glass is Communications Director for the California Federation of Teachers and Instructor of Labor and Community Studies at City College of San Francisco. He is the producer of Golden Lands, Working Hands, a ten-part documentary video series on California labor history.
Content
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PREFACE: WHY CALIFORNIA LABOR HISTORY? ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PART I:BEFORE THE BEGINNING PART II:EARLY DAYS PART III:FROM PRIDE OF CRAFT TO INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM PART IV:DIVISIONS IN THE GROWING HOUSE OF LABOR PART V:THE ERA OF BUSINESS UNIONISM PART VI:REINVENTING CALIFORNIA LABOR AFTERWORD: A PLACE IN THE SUN LIST OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS AND ACRONYMS BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE SOURCES INDEX