Protecting the Workforce

Reviews / Votes

In this important book Dr. Marquita Walker draws on her own union experience and a large body of research to make a convincing case: that workers' rights will never be achieved as long as corporations are left to rely on so-called Corporate Social Responsibility, a "trust me" approach in which businesses self-regulate their global supply chains. In a series of clearly-written chapters she takes us through the complex operation of the global economy today, in which, as she succinctly puts it, "the deck is very much slanted against workers." Yet she also points to a way forward, drawing on the promise of international worker-led corporate campaigns, legal agreements, and technological advances such as social media. -- Richard P. Appelbaum, University of California, Santa Barbara A Defense of Workers by Dr Walker is a must read, not only by students but by multi stakeholders throughout the GSC. She peels back the layers of complexities to explain the "why" and the possible paths forward. Her passion for workers' rights brings life, hope and strategy to the global challenge of improving the lives of workers. -- Anna Burger, Cornell University Walker's book is an excellent primer for students on global logistics, whether utlilized in a college of business or social science course. The clear and accessible definitions of theories and concepts range from Fordism and cultural hegemony to foreign investment and the evolution of regulation and international oversight, all while keeping workers at the center of the narrative. Walker's analysis of global supply chains starts with the advent of capitalism through the latest 2018 spate of deregulation, with explicit learning outcomes for students in each chapter. While laying out the pressures for a race to the bottom in environmental and worker protection that continue under non-binding self-policing regulation, Walker details the social movements initiated by local and global trade unions as well as international bodies to curb excesses and even reorganize production. "It doesn't have to be this way" is a refrain repeated at the end of chapters, with an explanation of what is in the realm of the possible. This book fills a gap in the literature on GSC, complementing Klein's Shock Doctrine. Taught in conjunction with critical perspectives on colonialism and racial hierarchies, Walker's book is an important contribution to global studies. -- Vivian Price, California State University, Dominguez Hills