Wisconsin uprising: labor fights back

305 Pages·2012·1.187 MB·English

by  Yates, Michael

Wisconsin Uprising
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Wisconsin Uprising
Labor Fights Back
edited by MICHAEL D. YATES
MONTHLY REVIEW PRESS
New York
Copyright © 2010 by Michael D. Yates and the authors
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wisconsin uprising : labor fights back / edited by Michael D. Yates ;
foreword by Robert W. McChesney.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-58367-280-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-58367-281-5
(cloth : alk. paper) 1. Labor movement—Wisconsin—History—21st century.
2. Labor unions—Wisconsin—History—21st century. 3. Working
class—United States—Social conditions. I. Yates, Michael, 1946–
HD8072.5.W57 2012
331.89'309775—dc23
2011045385
Monthly Review Press
146 West 29th Street, Suite 6W
New York, NY 10001
5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments.............................................9
Foreword....................................................11
Robert W. McChesney
Editor’s Introduction: Something is in the Air ..................19
Michael D. Yates
PART ONE:
ON THE GROUND IN MADISON
1. Disciplining Labor, Dismantling Democracy:
Rebellion and Control in Wisconsin ......................29
Connor Donegan
2. Capitalist Crisis and the Wisconsin Uprising...............45
Andrew Sernatinger
3. Who Were the Leaders of the Wisconsin Uprising?.........59
Lee Sustar
4. A New American Workers’ Movement Has Begun..........85
Dan La Botz
5. The Wisconsin Uprising................................101
Frank Emspak
PART TWO:
MOVING FORWARD: THE LESSONS OF WISCONSIN
6. Back to the Future:
Union Survival Strategies in Open Shop America.........125
Rand Wilson and Steve Early
7. In the Wake of Wisconsin, What Next?...................139
Jane Slaughter and Mark Brenner
8. What Can We Learn from Wisconsin? ...................155
Stephanie Luce
PART THREE:
BROADENING AND DEEPENING
THE STRUGGLE
9. Potholes and Roadblocks on “The Roads Not Taken”.....171
Elly Leary
10. The Assault on Public Services:
Will Unions Lament the Attacks or Fight Back............185
Michael Hurley and Sam Gindin
11. Marching Away from the Cold War......................201
David Bacon
12. “No, No, No, the People Have the Power”................213
Dave Zirin
13. Fighting Wage Cuts in Upstate New York Teaches
Chemical Workers the Value of Mobilization..............223
Jon Flanders
14. Beyond Wisconsin:
Seeking New Priorities as Labor Challenges War..........235
Michael Zweig
15. Building Communities of Solidarity
from Madison to Bend..................................251
Fernando Gapasin
16. Class Warfare in Longview, Washington:
“No Wisconsin Here”..................................267
Michael D. Yates
Afterword..................................................275
About the Contributors .....................................283
Notes......................................................286
Index......................................................298
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To all those who dare to protest
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I thank the authors who have contributed essays to
this book. It has been a pleasure to work with each of you. I also thank
Martin Paddio and Scott Borchert at Monthly Review Press for first
suggesting that we do such a book. My other comrades at Monthly
Review—John Foster, Brett Clark, John Mage, and John Simon—
have, as always, been supportive and encouraging. Thanks to Erin
Clermont for another fine job of copyediting. Finally, let me give praise
to all the people who rose up in Wisconsin, who by their brave and
inspiring actions, have given new life to the labor movement. Already,
we have seen working men and women, from our schools to our docks
to Wall Street to towns and cities across the country, rising up too.
They are beginning to say that their falling living standards, their
growing insecurity, and a government run by the plutocrats who have
gotten rich at their expense are no longer tolerable and will be met
with an organized response.