Union Booms and Busts

Unions are back in the news, with new organizing activity abounding, from Amazon to Starbucks. In Union Booms and Busts, authors Judith Stepan-Norris and Jasmine Kerrissey explain the evolution of the U.S. labor movement and shed light on the fluctuating strength of unionization in the past 115 years. Unlike other accounts, this book features detailed data to demonstrate the shifting fortunes of workers over time and by industry. While documenting the economic, political, and legal changes of each period, the authors highlight the union and employer actions that were crucial to creating their changing fortunes. By demonstrating how workers used strikes, elections, and other strategies to win power and employers used legal maneuvers, workforce-based strategies, and race and gender divisions to disrupt unions, the authors reveal data-driven truths about the ongoing history of unionization.