Labor Embattled: History, Power, Rights (Working Class in American History)

Explores Recent Developments Affecting American Workers In Light Of Labor's Past. Of Special Concern Is The Erosion Of The Rights Of Workers Under The Modern Labor Law, Which Brody Argues Is Rooted In The Original Formulation Of The Wagner Act. Brody Explains How The Ideals Of Free Labor, Free Speech, Freedom Of Association, And Freedom Of Contract Have Been Interpreted And Canonized In Ways That Unfailingly Reduce The Capacity For Workers' Collective Action While Silently Removing Impediments To Employers Coercion Of Workers. He Combines Legal And Labor History To Reveal How Laws Designed To Undergird Workers' Rights Now Essentially Hamstring Them. [publisher Web Site]. Responsibilities Of The Labor Historian -- The Future Of The Labor Movement In Historical Perspective -- Labor's Institutional Sources Of Expansion And Contraction -- Section 8a(2) And The Origins Of The Wagner Act -- World War I And Industrial Democracy; Or, Why We Have No Works Councils In America -- Reforming The American Workplace? -- On The Representation Election -- Freedom And Solidarity In American Labor Law -- Labor's Rights: Finding A Way. David Brody. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.