Fagforeninger

Paid work is absolutely central to the culture and politics of capitalist societies, yet today's work-centred world is becoming increasingly hostile to the human need for autonomy, spontaneity and community. The grim reality of a society in which some are overworked, whilst others are condemned to intermittent work and unemployment, is progressively more difficult to tolerate.In this thought-provoking book, David Frayne questions the central place of work in mainstream political visions of the future, laying bare the ways in which economic demands colonise our lives and priorities. Drawing on his original research into the lives of people who are actively resisting nine-to-five employment, Frayne asks what motivates these people to disconnect from work, whether or not their resistance is futile, and whether they might have the capacity to inspire an alternative form of development, based on a reduction and social redistribution of work.A crucial dissection of the work-centred nature of modern society and emerging resistance to it, The Refusal of Work is a bold call for a more humane and sustainable vision of social progress.

'It is my thesis that this general production of life, or subsistence production - mainly performed through the non-wage labour of women and other non-wage labourers as slaves, contract workers and peasants in the colonies - constitutes the perennial basis upon which "capitalist productive labour" can be built up and exploited.'First published in 1986, Maria Mies's progressive book was hailed as a major paradigm shift for feminist theory, and it remains a major contribution to development theory and practice today.Tracing the social origins of the sexual division of labour, it offers a history of the related processes of colonization and 'housewifization' and extends this analysis to the contemporary new international division of labour. Mies's theory of capitalist patriarchy has become even more relevant today.This new edition includes a substantial new introduction in which she both applies her theory to the new globalized world and answers her critics.

A vital work on labour movement strategy by experienced union activists

A comparative, ethnographic approach to the question of labour struggles and workers' political agency

"This project examines the Service Employee International Union (SEIU), long considered the best hope of a future for American organized labor. A union that has catered to a diverse body of workers outside the traditional factory-industrial stream--service workers, domestic workers, immigrant workers--the SEIU has developed particular strategies and tactics and built connections between U.S. and non-U.S. workers to create a vibrant source of agency for historically unrepresented or under-represented members of the workforce. This volume aims to provide a multifaceted examination of the SEIU's innovative organizing strategies, its international reach, its place in the wider labor movement, and its potential impact in the midst of the worst economic downtown since the Great Depression. The volume analyzes the recent history of the SEIU from the development of its famous J4J (Justice for Janitors) model, through its gains in the health care sector and its breakaway from the AFl-CIO, to its most recent controversies with the UNITE-HERE merger and its solidarities with migrant communities across the United States and Canada. Contributors consider openings and opportunities the current economic crisis is creating for organized labour and especially the SEIU; how the SEIU is reinventing itself to adapt to workers' needs; what role the SEIU plays in allying with community organizations to enable improvements in citizens' social and living conditions; the extent to which the SEIU is addressing contemporary challenges in a reasonable, productive, and progressive way; and how its diversity marks this union for progressive change for the twenty-first century. Chartered in 1921, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a worldwide organization that represents more than two million workers in occupations from healthcare and government service to custodians and taxi drivers. Women form more than half the membership while people in minority groups make up approximately forty percent"--

"The construction trades once provided unionized craftsmen a route to the middle class and a sense of pride and dignity often denied other blue-collar workers. Today, union members still earn wages and benefits that compare favorably to those of college graduates. But as union strength has declined over the last fifty years, a growing non-union sector offers lower compensation and more hazardous conditions, undermining the earlier tradition of upward mobility. Revitalization of the industry depends on unions shedding past racial and gender discriminatory practices, embracing organizing, diversity, and the new immigrant workforce, and preparing for technological changes. Mark Erlich blends long-view history with his personal experience inside the building trades to explain one of our economy's least understood sectors. Erlich's multifaceted account includes the dynamics of the industry, the backdrop of union policies, and powerful stories of everyday life inside the trades. He offers a much-needed overview of construction's past and present while exploring roads to the future"--

This book connects the history of labour movements with the transformation of workplace relations in South Asia from the late 19th century to the 1930s. Contending that labour conflicts in the Bengal jute industry must be understood against the backdrop of a radical change in the organisation of work in this period, Sailer shows how this led to a rupture in worker's relations in the workplace and beyond. Moving away from polarities such as class/culture or modernity/tradition and reconsidering the context around industrial conflicts in this period, Workplace relations in Colonial Bengal offers a new framework to analyse the changing organisation of work in colonial India, and identifies the implications for worker relations both inside and outside the factory. Focusing on a major colonial era industry, this book opens up new perspectives n the history of workers and colonial capitalism in modern India.

There are no unorganisable workers, only workers yet to be organised.

Protecting the Future of Work analyses the changes that worker protection institutions have undergone with the decline of traditional measures such as trade unions, mapping out the new systems and approaches to protect wages, conditions and job security.

The Labour Revolt that swept Britain in the early 20th century was one of the most sustained, dramatic and violent explosions of industrial militancy and social conflict the country has ever experienced.It involved large-scale strikes by miners, seamen, dockers, railway workers and many others, and was dominated by unskilled and semi-skilled workers, many acting independently of trade-union officials. Amidst this powerful grassroots energy, the country saw widespread solidarity action, phenomenal union membership growth, breakthroughs in both industrial unionism and women's union organisation, and a dramatic increase in the collective power of the working-class movement. It heralded political radicalisation that celebrated direct action and challenged head-on the Liberal government and police and military, as well as parliamentary reformism of the Labour Party.Exploring the role of the radical left and the relationship between industrial struggles and political organisation, with new archival research and fresh insights and combining history from below and above, Ralph Darlington provides a multi-dimensional portrayal of the context, causes, actors, dynamics and contemporary significance of the Labour Revolt.Ralph Darlington is Emeritus Professor of Employment Relations at Salford University. His books include Glorious Summer and Radical Unionism. His research has been featured in national newspapers, and radio and television.

The postman and the primary teacher, the midwife and the musician. Workers in shops, workers at sea. Solidarity with the Columbian farmer and the Palestinian fireman...Modern trade unionists in Scotland perform roles in every imaginable location and are drawn from all backgrounds. They campaign to win on issues facing the colleague next to them or a comrade thousands of miles away. 'Mon the Workers tells their stories in their own words. It is a celebration of 125 years of the STUC, and a clarion call for the next generation to agitate, organise and win. This book demonstrates past achievements, explores the ideas trade unionists have fought for and rouses the movement towards future victories. 75 trade union members, reps and officials share experiences of union life from the anti-apartheid movement to Wick Wants Work. Alan McCredie's charismatic portraits of 50 other activists from the trade union movement provide a complementary visual narrative. This very human book pulses with the energy of Scotland's trade union movement, which has achieved so much and still has more to do.

Øgede arbejderprotester fra 2000 til 2015 viste en mere selvbevidst kinesisk arbejderbevægelse. Kinas industricentrum ligger i Perleflodens Delta. Arbejdere fra alle dele af landet kom til chokerende forhold: arbejdsgivere der bare forduftede når betalingsdagen nærmere sig, fagforeninger og politi der solidariserede sig med ejerne, når arbejderne protesterede. En bølge af strejker blussede op, med bl.a. Honda-arbejderne i spidsen i juni 2010. Centralt i bogen er artiklerne om arbejderne på Jasic og deres kamp i sommeren 2018. Jasic, et privat firma, der laver svejsemaskiner. Det ligger i Shenzhen, en by på 12 mio. indbyggere i den store provins Guangdong, tæt ved Hongkong.Men hvordan tegner situationen sig i dag efter at parti-staten nu lægger vægt på forebyggende politiindgreb? Det prøver bogen at give et svar på.

"A fast-paced look at the corporate dysfunction--the ruthless cost-cutting, toxic workplaces, and cutthroat management--that contributed to one of the worst tragedies in modern aviation Boeing is a century-old titan of American industry. The largest exporter in the US, it played a central role in the early days of commercial flight, World War II bombing missions, and moon landings. It remains a linchpin in the awesome routine of air travel today. But the two crashes of its 737 MAX 8, in 2018 and 2019, exposed a shocking pattern of malfeasance, leading to the biggest crisis in the company's history. How did things go so horribly wrong at Boeing? Flying Blind is the definitive exposâe of a corporate scandal that has transfixed the world. It reveals how a broken corporate culture paved the way for disaster, losses that were altogether avoidable. Drawing from aviation insiders, as well as exclusive interviews with senior Boeing staff, past and present, it shows how in its race to beat Airbus, Boeing skimped on testing, outsourced critical software to unreliable third-parties, and convinced regulators to put planes into service without properly equipping pilots to fly them. In the chill that it cast over its workplace, it offers a parable for a corporate America that puts the interests of shareholders over customers, employees, and communities. This is a searing account of how a once-iconic company fell prey to a win-at-all-costs mentality, destabilizing an industry and needlessly sacrificing 350 lives"--

';Kelly unearths the stories of the peoplefarm laborers, domestic workers, factory employeesbehind some of labor movement's biggest successes.' The New York Times A revelatory and inclusive history of the American labor movement, from independent journalist and Teen Vogue labor columnist Kim Kelly.Freed Black women organizing for protection in the Reconstruction-era South. Jewish immigrant garment workers braving deadly conditions for a sliver of independence. Asian American fieldworkers rejecting government-sanctioned indentured servitude across the Pacific. Incarcerated workers advocating for basic human rights and fair wages. The queer Black labor leader who helped orchestrate America's civil rights movement. These are only some of the working-class heroes who propelled American labor's relentless push for fairness and equal protection under the law. The names and faces of countless silenced, misrepresented, or forgotten leaders have been erased by time as a privileged few decide which stories get cut from the final copy: those of women, people of color, LGBTQIA people, disabled people, sex workers, prisoners, and the poor. In this definitive and assiduously researched work of journalism, Teen Vogue columnists and independent labor reporter Kim Kelly excavates that untold history and shows how the rights the American worker has todaythe forty-hour workweek, workplace-safety standards, restrictions on child labor, protection from harassment and discrimination on the jobwere earned with literal blood, sweat, and tears. Fight Like Hell comes at a time of economic reckoning in America. From Amazon's warehouses to Starbucks cafes, Appalachian coal mines to the sex workers of Portland's Stripper Strike, interest in organized labor is at a fever pitch not seen since the early 1960s. Inspirational, intersectional, and full of crucial lessons from the past, Fight Like Hell shows what is possible when the working class demands the dignity it has always deserved.

Tells the story of the nation's largest higher education union from its earliest years to its role today as a powerful organization promoting the interests of faculty, staff, and the entire SUNY community.

"Collection of stories by Paul Lafargu including The Right to Be Lazy; A Capitalist Catechism; The Legend of Victor Hugo and Memories of Karl Marx. Paul Lafargue's masterpiece, The Right To Be Lazy, at once funny and serious, witty and profound, elegant and forceful, is a logical expansion of The Right to the Pursuit of Happiness announced by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. It was not only extremely popular but also brought about pragmatic results, inspiring the movement for the eight-hour day and equal pay for men and women who perform equal work. It survives as one of the very few pieces of writing to come out of the international socialist movement of the nineteenth century that is not only readable-even enjoyable-but pertinent. Born in Cuba on January 15, 1842, Lafargue was a child of the New World, although he was a citizen of France. Educated and trained as a physician, he found his true calling as a revolutionary, a speaker, writer, agitator, and organizer on behalf of French working people. He took an active part in the Paris Commune and was one of the founders of the party of revolutionary socialists in France. He held public office and represented the French workers at international congresses. He also spent time in French jails"--

A vital and timely manifestol for a feminist post-work politics

Processes of neoliberal globalization have put national trade unions under pressure as the transnational organization of production puts these labour movements in competition with each other. The global economic crisis has intensified these pressures further. And yet, economic and political integration processes have also provided workers with new possibilities to organize resistance.Emphasizing the importance of agency, this book analyzes transnational labour action in times of crisis, historically and now. It draws on a variety of fascinating cases, across formal and informal collectives, in order to clarify which factors facilitate or block the formation of solidarity. Moving beyond empirical description of cases to an informed understanding of collective action across borders, the volume provides an insightful theorization of transnational action.

Veteran labor journalist Richard Steier explores the tensions between New York City's public employee unions, their critics, and city and state politicians.