Sunday, November 24, 2013

The Global Labour Movement: a review

Here's a book review I recently posted on Amazon and Good Reades The Global Labour Movement: An Introduction: A Short Guide to the Global Union Federations, the Ituc, and Other International BodiesThe Global Labour Movement: An Introduction: A Short Guide to the Global Union Federations, the Ituc, and Other International Bodies by Edd Mustill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Workers of the world unite" is a phrase that most every leftist knows, not to mention. plenty of non-leftists. Today, more than 175 million workers are members of unions affiliated with the ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation), This short guide to the global union federations (GUFs) of the ITUC belongs on the bookshelves of union activists, CLCs, state feds, international unions, and their equivalents outside the US. It is particularly important for US Americans who are not as exposed to the international cooperation of unions as our European comrades to have this knowledge.

In addition, to profiles of the GUFs, there are enlightening interviews with union campaigners from the UK and Nepal and short contributions from the head of the UK TUC's international department, Dave Spooner of the Global Labour Institute, Amnesty International's labor adviser, and the director of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights.

There are longer books on global unionism, but this short guide contains the basics. I think it would be a natural not only for labor educators, but also for many international studies classes.

If you've ever said or thought that unions need to respond to capitalist globalization by going global themselves, you owe it to yourself to get this book.

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