Labor unions have helped shape American history, but are they still relevant today? In this volume of critical perspectives, readers will hear from experts in the field about the history of labor unions and their lasting, and controversial, effects on American workers. Readers will be exposed to a range of voices, encouraging them to think critically and analyze the given facts in order to form their own opinions on the issue. Each article provides thought-provoking questions to help boost further discussion of topics.

This set is designed to capture both the complexity of the field of industrial relations globally, as well as bringing out the continuing relevance of competing theoretical approaches to the subject.

"Social theory has largely abandoned a focus on labor and with it its empirical foundation, while the sociology of work has neglected the production of theory more generally. It is for precisely this reason that Capitalism and labor has become a standard work on this subject. Labor and employment relations have become both increasingly diverse as well as less secure while, at the same time, labor and distributional struggles are being waged ever more fiercely. Adequately grasping these changes requires innovative impulses emerging from the analysis of capitalism, just as the sociology of work has a lot to contribute to the former. In this translated and updated edition the authors discuss current theoretical approachers in an attempt to once again conceive capitalism and labor together"--Back cover.

This book presents a broad-ranging survey of contemporary writing about work and employment. It identifies three broad traditions of research and commentary on work - the unitary perspective, the pluralist perspective and the critical perspective - and describes the contemporary output of these traditions; i.e. it surveys current research and argument found within these traditions. The book also surveys debate between these traditions, and the second part of the book presents a detailed account of debate over four current issues. These issues are employee participation, customer culture, equality and diversity and the impact of the global financial crisis. The source material for the book comes from the UK, USA and other countries and the arguments contained within it have international relevance. The book provides an overview of recent work on the employment relationship and the debate and controversy that can be seen in this area of study. Framing Work will be of interest to academics researching and writing about employment and to advanced students in Industrial Relations, Human Resource Management, Organization Studies, and Sociology.

Fewer than 12 percent of U.S. workers belong to unions, and union membership rates are falling in much of the world. With tremendous growth in inequality within and between countries, steady or indeed rising unemployment and underemployment, and the marked increase in precarious work and migration, can unions still play a role in raising wages and improving work conditions? This book provides a critical evaluation of labor unions both in the U.S. and globally, examining the factors that have led to the decline of union power and arguing that, despite their challenges, unions still have a vital part to play in the global economy. Stephanie Luce explores the potential sources of power that unions might have, and emerging new strategies and directions for the growth of global labor movements, such as unions, worker centers, informal sector organizations, and worker co-operatives, helping workers resist the impacts of neoliberalism. She shows that unions may in fact be more relevant now than ever. This important assessment of labor movements in the global economy will be required reading for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of labor studies, political and economic sociology, the sociology of work, and social movements.

This set captures both the complexity of the field of industrial relations globally, as well as bringing out the continuing relevance of competing theoretical approaches to the subject. It combines classical texts with the latest controversies.

Contemporary American youth live in a culture that ignores or denigrates labor unions. Mainstream media cover labor issues only sparingly and unions no longer play much of a role in popular culture texts, films, or images. In our schools labor has been limited to a footnote in textbooks instead of being treated seriously as the most effective force for championing the rights of working people—the vast majority of the citizenry.