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Social Forces 81.3 (2003) 1067-1069



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Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles. Edited by Bruce Nissen. M.E. Sharpe, 2002. 293 pp. Cloth, $65.95; paper, $24.95.

Numerous articles and anthologies over the last several years have addressed the decline and possible revitalization of the contemporary labor movement in the U.S. This collection focuses on globalization, considering union responses to global economic restructuring and immigration and analyzing the need for internal change within labor organizations. This accessibly written volume usefully moves beyond the description of single case studies that have often prevailed in recent research; the contributions bring together discussions of cultural and historical characteristics of unionism in the U.S. with analysis of changes in the economic environment in particular industries, draw on comparative research to make analytical claims, and attempt to rethink possibilities for a broadly inclusive social movement unionism. [End Page 1067]

After Bruce Nissen's introduction, the volume is divided into three sections. The first, "Cross-Border Organizing and Solidarity," focuses on union efforts to organize internationally in the face of transnationalized production. Steve Babson's contribution usefully describes the integration of Mexico into the North American automotive industry and the concomitant effects on Mexican and U.S. workers. Babson argues that possibilities for cross-border organizing vary significantly according to local conditions, especially the characteristics of fragmented Mexican auto unions in various regions, and he suggests a number of possible arenas of cross-border solidarity among North American auto workers. Henry J. Frundt draws on a variety of concrete examples to describe the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of four models of cross-border organizing. Jeff Rechenbach and Larry Cohen of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) offer a detailed analysis of the transnationalization of the communications industry and CWA's developing strategy for confronting these changes. They focus especially on the Ameritech Alliance, which coordinated actions among CWA in the U.S. and unions in four other countries, and advocate a practice of cross-national solidarity based on worksite actions rather than on meetings among workers and unions.

In the second section, "Responding to Immigration," Ruth Milkman demonstrates that immigrant workers in Los Angeles are less likely to be unionized than their native-born counterparts. This is the case because immigrant workers are more likely to be employed in nonunion workplaces, not because they are resistant to organizing. Indeed, Milkman mobilizes evidence indicating that immigrant workers are highly receptive to organizing efforts and describes key organizing campaigns among immigrant workers. She suggests that, while successes are fragile, the changes in the L.A. political landscape wrought by immigrant organizing, in the context of AFL-CIO revitalization, will support the efforts unions must continue to make among immigrant workers. I especially like Bruce Nissen and Guillermo Grenier's thoughtful discussion of union approaches to immigrant workers in South Florida, based on new research. Comparing the Steelworkers, the International Brotherhood of Carpenters, the Hotel and Restaurant Workers, and UNITE, the authors argue that four factors differentiate union responses to immigrants: union structure, traditional characteristics of employers and members, the vision of the leadership, and internal cultures of the unions. They draw on these findings to make specific suggestions for successful incorporation of immigrants.

The third section, "Internal Transformation," focuses on the changes required to achieve a broadly inclusive social movement unionism. Edna Bonacich and Fernando Gapasin call into question the shift in strategic focus to the service and public sectors at the expense of the manufacturing sector, arguing that unions must find ways to incorporate industrial workers despite the extreme difficulties posed by global transformation and flexibility. They suggest that a [End Page 1068] radical approach is in order, one that transcends the traditional union structure and organizes workers either below the level of the workplace (e.g., organizing individual workers into workers' centers and other organizations) or above that level (sectoral and coalitional organizing). They advocate the reincorporation of a leftist perspective, in contrast to traditional or pragmatic approaches, into union activities. Ian Robinson...

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