Schools of Democracy: A Political History of the American Labor Movement - Softcover

Sinyai, Clayton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801472997 ISBN 13: 9780801472992

Publisher: ILR Press, 2006

Synopsis

In this new political history of the labor movement, Clayton Sinyai examines the relationship between labor activism and the American democratic tradition. Sinyai shows how America's working people and union leaders debated the first questions of democratic theory―and in the process educated themselves about the rights and responsibilities of democratic citizenship.

In tracing the course of the American labor movement from the founding of the Knights of Labor in the 1870s to the 1968 presidential election and its aftermath, Sinyai explores the political dimensions of collective bargaining, the structures of unions and businesses, and labor's relationships with political parties and other social movements. Schools of Democracy analyzes how labor activists wrestled with fundamental aspects of political philosophy and the development of American democracy, including majority rule versus individual liberty, the rule of law, and the qualifications required of citizens of a democracy. Offering a balanced assessment of mainstream leaders of American labor, from Samuel Gompers to George Meany, and their radical critics, including the Socialists and the Industrial Workers of the World, Sinyai provides an unusual and refreshing perspective on American labor history.

About this title

About the Author

Clayton Sinyai is a Researcher for the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) and Political Director for Laborers' Local 11.

Edition details

• Publisher: ILR Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801472997
• ISBN 13: 9780801472992
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304