The author is convinced that there is a ruling class in America today. He examines the American power structure as it has developed in the 1980s. He presents systematic, empirical evidence that a fixed group of privileged people dominates the American economy and government. The book demonstrates that an upper class comprising only one-half of one percent of the population occupies key positions within the corporate community. It shows how leaders within this "power elite" reach government and dominate it through processes of special-interest lobbying, policy planning and candidate selection. It is written not to promote any political ideology, but to analyze our society with accuracy.

Working for Justice, which includes eleven case studies of recent low-wage worker organizing campaigns in Los Angeles, makes the case for a distinctive "L.A. Model" of union and worker center organizing. Networks linking advocates in worker centers and labor unions facilitate mutual learning and synergy and have generated a shared repertoire of economic justice strategies. The organized labor movement in Los Angeles has weathered the effects of deindustrialization and deregulation better than unions in other parts of the United States, and this has helped to anchor the city's wider low-wage worker movement. Los Angeles is also home to the nation's highest concentration of undocumented immigrants, making it especially fertile territory for low-wage worker organizing. The case studies in Working for Justice are all based on original field research on organizing campaigns among L.A. day laborers, garment workers, car wash workers, security officers, janitors, taxi drivers, hotel workers as well as the efforts of ethnically focused worker centers and immigrant rights organizations. The authors interviewed key organizers, gained access to primary documents, and conducted participant observation. Working for Justice is a valuable resource for sociologists and other scholars in the interdisciplinary field of labor studies, as well as for advocates and policymakers.

"A guidebook for preparing and presenting a case to an arbitrator or board of arbitration"--

Labor Law Analysis and Advocacy presents in detail, but within a single volume, the interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act as developed by the federal courts and the National Labor Relations Board. The book explores the pertinent legal rules as currently interpreted and applied; as well as the evolution and underlying purposes of the rules, the persuasiveness of the court and NLRB decisions, and the significant open issues. A unique and important feature is the treatment of matters of practice, procedure and strategy that are of importance to the practicing attorney, whether representing management, labor, employees or the government. Practice tips are interspersed throughout as "Advocate Practice Points" translating the legal rules into advice and strategies. These tips address the practicalities of labor law, and set forth thoughtful advice for use in common real-life situations, from the perspective of both labor and management. Labor Law Analysis and Advocacy is largely derived from a treatise in the Hornbook series (West Publishing Co.) written initially in 1976 (by Professor Gorman) and revised by Professors Gorman and Finkin in 2004. The principal audiences for this publication are both generalist and specialist practitioners, ranging from those interested in an introduction to basic labor law principles to those interested in the specifics of their application, whether presenting cases before courts or the NLRB or advising clients about concerted activities or collective bargaining. Labor Law Analysis and Advocacy is also of value to federal judges and their law clerks, and to students doing basic or advanced study in labor law.

The thrilling and true account of racketeering and union corruption in mid-century New York, when unions and the mob were locked in a power struggle that reverberates to this day In 1949, in New York City's crowded Garment District, a union organizer named William Lurye was stabbed to death by a mob assassin. Through the lens of this murder case, prize-winning authors David Witwer and Catherine Rios explore American labor history at its critical turning point, drawing on FBI case files and the private papers of investigative journalists who first broke the story. A narrative that originates in the garment industry of mid-century New York, which produced over 80 percent of the nation's dresses at the time, Murder in the Garment District quickly moves to a national stage, where congressional anti-corruption hearings gripped the nation and forever tainted the reputation of American unions. Replete with elements of a true-crime thriller, Murder in the Garment District includes a riveting cast of characters, from wheeling and dealing union president David Dubinsky to the notorious gangster Abe Chait and the crusading Robert F. Kennedy, whose public duel with Jimmy Hoffa became front-page news. Deeply researched and grounded in the street-level events that put people's lives and livelihoods at stake, Murder in the Garment District is destined to become a classic work of history—one that also explains the current troubled state of unions in America.

As national policy is debated, a locally based grassroots movement is taking the initiative to assist millions of immigrants in the American workforce facing poor pay, bad working conditions, and few prospects to advance to better jobs. Fine takes a comprehensive look at the rising phenomenon of worker centers, fast-growing institutions that improve the lives of immigrant workers through service advocacy and organizing.—from publisher information.