Labor’s Partisans

Essential Writings on the Union Movement from the 1950s to Today

Edited by:

The top American writers on labor provide vital historical context for the current upsurge in union organizing

“A remarkable accomplishment . . . an authoritative account.” —The Washington Post on Nelson Lichtenstein’s State of the Union

In 1954, the American labor movement reached its historic height, with one-third of all nonagricultural workers belonging to a union—and much higher percentages in the nation’s key industries. That same year, a group of writers and activists, many with close ties to organized labor, founded Dissent magazine, which quickly became the publishing home for the most important progressive voices on American unions.

Today, at a time of both resurgent union organizing and socialist politics, the need for this rich tradition of ideas is as pressing as ever.

With over twenty-five contributions by some of the nation’s most influential progressive voices, Labor’s Partisans brings to life a history of labor that is of immediate relevance to our own times. Introduced and edited by leading labor historians Nelson Lichtenstein and Samir Sonti, this essential volume reveals the powerful currents and debates running through the labor movement, from the 1950s to today.

Combining stunning writing, political passion, and deep historical perspective, Labor’s Partisans will be a source of ideas and inspiration for anyone concerned with a more just future for working people.

Praise

“Knowing our history is important and so too is understanding how people make sense of their present moment. Labor’s Partisans, covering such an important period in working-class struggle, showcases how analysis and interpretation are shaped by the moments in which the writers live. They help root us in our history as we chart a bolder path forward.”

—Gwen Mills, International Union President of UNITE HERE

“Over the past seventy years, as the fortunes of American workers and their unions have waxed (briefly) and waned (not so briefly), no magazine has covered the labor scene with such brilliance, rigor and sympathy as Dissent. In the best Dissent tradition, this anthology offers a probing portrait of American capitalism since the mid-20th century, and workers’ ongoing struggles, if not to socialize it, then at least to make it more bearably humane.”

—Harold Meyerson, editor at large, The American Prospect

“[Labor’s Partisans] explores the major issues that union organizers have faced, from the Cold War to the current environmental crisis. . . . An honest tribute to dissenting voices, and a plea for a better world for everyone—‘not just the rich or white.’”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Labor’s Partisans provides a keen look at the labor movement and class relations since World War II though the eyes of some of the country’s shrewdest intellectuals. Union supporters all, they nonetheless pull no punches in their frank appraisals of labor’s failings as well as its successes. I can think of no better way to understand how we got to where we are and how labor might move forward than this lively collection.”

—Joshua Freeman, Distinguished Professor of History at the City University of New York, and author of Behemoth and Working-Class New York

“The working class built America, but workers and their unions have long struggled to win rights in a system that’s put the rights of capital over those of labor. Labor’s Partisans is a marvelous collection of writing that captures our finest intellectuals and organizers grappling with the past and future of the labor movement during moments of tremendous change.”

—Bhaskar Sunkara, founding editor of Jacobin, president of The Nation, and author of The Socialist Manifesto

“Seventy years of reporting capture the ebb and flow of American labor power in this robust collection. . . . The result is an impressive retrospective with a forward-looking feel.”

The New Press

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