Public Employee Press

Book Review
Striking back
How public sector unions won rights

Joe Burns' pathbreaking book "Strike Back: Using the Militant Tactics of Labor's Past to Reignite Public Sector Unionism Today" describes the untold story of the strike wave that gave birth to U.S. public sector unionism. While public sector workers did organize throughout the 20th century, it was not until the 1960s and '70s when they got fed up with "collective begging" to politicians and held numerous mostly illegal strikes that achieved collective bargaining. In big cities such as New York and small ones across the country, they were inspired by the civil rights and other protest movements (especially AFSCME's Memphis sanitation strike) and looked to the support of the heavily organized private sector unions.

Burns' analysis ties their effectiveness to their fighting also for the community's  demands for delivery of services. For example, strikers in the 1965 DC 37 welfare workers strike supported community efforts to increase welfare recipients' clothing allotments and did not settle their strike until the community demands were met. Burns also criticizes management rights clauses precluding workers from having input into how community services are delivered.  He notes that politicians have no problem letting private companies manage service delivery when it is outsourced, but balk at giving workers any such authority.

Significant strike activity lasted into the '70s when government and big business began a counter offensive against unions and also the civil rights movement  (leading to "the New Jim Crow"). While private sector unions began a long decline, public sector unions survived. But their strikes declined even before Reagan's firings in the air traffic controllers' strike. Now public sector unions are the target beginning with Gov. Scott Walker's evisceration of union rights in Wisconsin. Current attacks across states are focusing on privatization (especially in schools) and on union non-member fee collection - threatening public and private sector unions. Citing as an example the recent Chicago teachers strike, Burns advocates a return to the use of the strike tactics that built the public workers' unions, which will only be successful, as in Chicago, with community and wider labor support. But we also need a wider movement like in the 1930s and '60s where the focus is struggles at the workplace and communities supporting each other. This needs to happen again for what Burns called the great upsurge to occur, which will raise all boats.

— Ken Nash
DC 37 Education Fund Library
www.dc37library.org