Congress of Industrial Organizations’ Committee to Abolish Discrimination poster, 1951. Bernard Seaman/Tamiment Library, NYU
McAlevey… is an advocate for a particular type of union… “A commitment to democracy means breaking down the barriers—including directly confronting racism and sexism—that divide workers and weaken them in the fight for their common good…”
We need many more labor organizers sharing the tools of their trade: A Collective Bargain, like the rest of McAlevey’s work, is indispensable.
A Collective Bargain offers an introduction to the world of unions and their enemies, disseminating the how-tos of organizing to those people who lack experience in, for example, running supermajority strikes—which is to say, most people. McAlevey’s writing is an attempt to circulate organizers’ skills, breathing life into the long-quiescent labor movement.