Solutions for the New Work Force: Policies for a New Social Contract

Book by Sweeney, John J., Nussbaum, Karen

Whether labeled by the "U' word or not, the cause of socioeconomic reform in the United States is in a state of dormancy approaching fossilization. The recent presidential campaign witnessed the distressing spectacle of the Democratic Party standard bearer refusing to stand up and be counted, not only as a liberal personally, but as the leader of the liberal forces in the countrya stand that earlier candidates proudly took and used to their political advantage. Given the mood of the nation, aided and abetted by a mass media firmly in the hands of political conservatives, it is no wonder that earlier periods labeled as the "New Deal" and the "Fair Deal" have been replaced by the era of "Let's Make a Deal." Sweeney and Nussbaum, presidents of the international union and District 925 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), respectively, have compiled in this volume a comprehensive list of various maladies afflicting the American worker body politic and have appended recommended cures for the ills described. The evils they discuss are many and complex: inadequate wages, the lack of health benefits and child care facilities, dangers to physical and mental health found in the workplace, and the shocking inadequacy of education and training for the young or displaced worker. In one of their most interesting chapters, the authors discuss the growing emphasis on the use of part-time and temporary employees, a phenomenon that has returned casual laborers, previously relegated to the fringes of American labor, to the employment mainstream. Sweeney and Nussbaum's book includes background information and action agenda for meaningful social reform. It is a useful acquisition for libraries and bookstores. Now all that is needed is to find a constituency to support such an agenda. Perhaps the 1990s will witness the fulfillment of that desired state. -Norman Lederer, Director of Education and Training, District 65, United Auto Workers, Woodbridge, NJ -- From Independent Publisher