The UAW's Southern Gamble is
the first in-depth assessment of the United Auto Workers' efforts to
organize foreign vehicle plants (Daimler-Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz,
Nissan, and Volkswagen) in the American South since 1989, an era when
union membership declined precipitously. Stephen J. Silvia chronicles
transnational union cooperation between the UAW and its counterparts
in Brazil, France, Germany, and Japan and documents the development
of employer strategies that have proven increasingly effective at
thwarting unionization.
Silvia
shows that when organizing, unions must now fight on three fronts: at
the worksite; in the corporate boardroom; and in the political realm.
The UAW's Southern Gamble
makes clear that the
UAW's failed campaigns in the South can teach hard-won lessons about
challenging the structural and legal roadblocks to union
participation and effectively organizing workers within and beyond
the auto industry.
