Author: Patrick L. Mason

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9780814326893

Over the past twenty-five years, union participation has declined among the nation as whole. Coupled with increasing racial tensions, cutbacks in public programs at the federal, state, and local levels, and a shift in the distribution of wealth, these changes have undermined the standard of living for American workers' families, especially African American families, as they created greater wealth for the American elite. African Americans, Labor, and Society examines these changes, in particular their effects on the entire African American community, and suggests a move toward a more egalitarian future. This collection of essays, written by legal scholars, professional organizers, and economists, suggests integrating civil rights and labor laws to strengthen both anti-discrimination and union-organizing efforts. The volume demonstrates the negative effects for union workers of arbitration agreements that undermine civil rights legislation in the workplace. It also provides a detailed case study of the nature and extent of racial conflict within a major industrial union, and analyzes and suggests policy changes that would increase the political and economic power of American workers as a whole, while aggressively attacking racism in social, economic, and political institutions. African Americans, Labor, and Society presents strategies for creating better opportunities for African Americans through private sector employment that will appeal to legal, union, and labor students and scholars, as well as economists.