
Labor Under Fire
A History of the AFL-CIO Since 1979
Timothy J. Minchin(Author)
The University of North Carolina Press
Published on 1. August 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-4696-6154-4 (ISBN)
Description
From the Reagan years to the present, the labor movement has faced a profoundly hostile climate. As America's largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO was forced to reckon with severe political and economic headwinds. Yet the AFL-CIO survived, consistently fighting for programs that benefited millions of Americans, including social security, unemployment insurance, the minimum wage, and universal health care. With a membership of more than 13 million, it was also able to launch the largest labor march in American history--1981's Solidarity Day--and to play an important role in politics.
In a history that spans from 1979 to the present, Timothy J. Minchin tells a sweeping, national story of how the AFL-CIO sustained itself and remained a significant voice in spite of its powerful enemies and internal constraints. Full of details, characters, and never-before-told stories drawn from unexamined, restricted, and untapped archives, as well as interviews with crucial figures involved with the organization, this book tells the definitive history of the modern AFL-CIO.
In a history that spans from 1979 to the present, Timothy J. Minchin tells a sweeping, national story of how the AFL-CIO sustained itself and remained a significant voice in spite of its powerful enemies and internal constraints. Full of details, characters, and never-before-told stories drawn from unexamined, restricted, and untapped archives, as well as interviews with crucial figures involved with the organization, this book tells the definitive history of the modern AFL-CIO.
Reviews / Votes
"Deeply sourced and written in a favorable tone, Minchin's book tells the disturbing history of labor under fire and in steep decline. Useful to labor historians and anyone wondering where the American labor movement went."- Library Journal"A textured narrative that puts nuance, personality, and even happenstance back into the often schematically told story of labor's late twentieth-century travail."- The Michigan Historical Review
"A useful launching point for scholars hoping to investigate these issues further."- The Journal of Southern History
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chapel Hill
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
25 halftones
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
731 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4696-6154-4 (9781469661544)
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

E-Book
03/2017
The University of North Carolina Press
€19.49
Available for download
Person
Timothy J. Minchin is professor of North American history at La Trobe University.