The New Rank and File

Much has changed for workers in the years since Staughton and Alice Lynd's classic Rank and File: Personal Histories by Working-Class Organizers was first published in 1973. The New Rank and File presents interviews with working-class organizers of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s who face the challenges of a new economy with the same determination and creativity shown by those profiled in the earlier book. Reflecting the increasing globalization of labor practices―and problems―The New Rank and File contains oral histories of workers in Guatemala, Palestine, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Canada, as well as the United States.

In their narratives, rank-and-file workers from many different industries and workplaces reveal the specific incidents and pervasive injustices that triggered their activism. They discuss the frustrations they faced in attempting to effect change through traditional means, and the ways in which they have learned to advocate through innovation. In an incisive introduction, the Lynds set forth their distinctive perspective on the labor movement, with a focus on "solidarity unionism": making decisions on the assumption that we all may be leaders at one time or another rather than relying on static hierarchies. Their insights, along with true stories told in the organizers' own words, contain much to inspire a new generation of workers and activists.

Jim Brophy
Tony Budak
Andrea Carney
Chinese Staff and Workers' Association
Coalition of University Employees
Bill DiPietro
Kay Eisenhower
Rich Feldman
The Frente Autentico del Trabajo
Marshall Ganz
Mia Giunta
Martin Glaberman
Mayra Guillen
The Hebron Union of Workers and General Service Personnel
Hugo Hernandez
Margaret Keith
Elly Leary
Ed Mann
Charlie McCollester
Virginia Roman
Vicky Starr
Gary Stevenson
Mike Stout
Manuela Aju Tambriz
James Trevathan
TriState Conference on Steel
Mauricio Vallejos
Workers for Ford in Mexico

Staughton and Alice Lynd practiced employment law for years as Legal Services attorneys. They now work with prisoners as well as rank-and-file workers. Staughton Lynd is the author of Living Inside Our Hope: A Steadfast Radical's Thoughts on Rebuilding the Movement, also from Cornell. The Lynds have jointly edited Nonviolence in America: A Documentary History and Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians.