Cover -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- New Introduction -- Introduction -- "We Have to Destroy This Union to Save It" -- "The Boss Brought Us This Union" -- "A Very Troubling Message" -- "Hands Off Our Union" -- Occupy! -- "Healthcare Workers in Control" -- "We Can Get Involved" -- "Fresno-SEIU's Vietnam" -- The Struggle Continues -- Afterword -- Appendix I -- Appendix II -- Notes -- About the author.

A clear analysis of tactics and politics, this thorough account examines the dispute between the United Healthcare Workers (UHW) union in California and its “parent" organization the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)—one of the most important labor conflicts in the United States today. The UHW rank and file took umbrage with the SEIU's rejection of traditional labor values of union democracy and class struggle and their tactics of wheeling and dealing with top management, and in some cases, politicians. The resulting rift and retaliation from SEIU leadership culminated in the UHW membership being forced to break out and form a brand new union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Timed to coincide with elections in California, this detailed history calls for a reexamination of the ideological and structural underpinnings of today's labor movement and illustrates how a seemingly local conflict actually speaks to the rights of laborers to control their own fates.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.