A former union buster exposes the dirty tricks that elevated him to the top of his profession and that have transformed the war on organized labor into a billion-dollars-per-year industry. This book is the story of a man who has decided to come in out of the cold, to clear his conscience, and to share the hard lessons he has learned. Line drawings.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
With compelling vigor and rich detail, Levitt, writing with freelancer Conrow, tells the tale of his rise to union-busting fame from 1969-1988 and his equally dramatic change of heart. Now a consultant advising unions on how to bust the union busters, Levitt says that he is baring his sins both for personal reasons and so that former colleagues will have nothing further with which to discredit him. He portrays himself and his fellow union busters as cynical and contemptuous of workers who try to organize. Using manipulation and propaganda, the busters wear down the union organizers. Levitt's union busters are repulsively slick, preying on the fears and purses of the companies that hire them. The details of Levitt's descent into alcoholism seem prosaic compared to the descriptions of the many union avoidance campaigns he masterminded, even if it was 12-step remorse and humility that provided the motivation for this confessional. His bold story is timely, given current national efforts to reform labor laws.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Levitt writes this autobiographical account of a "union buster" from the perspective of one who now sees that his career was destructive to management, employees, and businesses in general. Levitt began his career in 1969 at the age of 25 with a position as a labor management consultant. By 1987, when he decided he could no longer continue his career, he had orchestrated over 200 antiunion campaigns. Today Levitt speaks to unions to inform them of the tactics he and other management consultants use against labor. Mixed in with his story of union busting are Levitt's problems with alcohol, money, and his marriage. This book is of interest as a first-person account of someone involved in labor conflict and should be considered for large public and academic libraries with labor history collections.
- Linda McEwan, Elgin Community Coll. , Ill.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Linda McEwan, Elgin Community Coll. , Ill.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
We have been going through a very nasty union compain at Pikeville Methodist Hospital, Pikeville, Ky. I felt as though I was fighting a ghost or something. Now I know just who we are fighting and what they will do to stop us from getting a fair contract. This book brought tears to my eyes. Everything in this book is happening right now here in Pikeville. Employees are turning against each other, security guards are all around, we are now behind fences, and some are just plain beaten down. At least now, with this book, I know we are not the only people to go through this. I would love for Mr. Levitt to come here and speak. I know he could help. I have been trying to get everyone to read this book.I am ever so glad I did. I only wish I had read it sooner. We have been in negotiations for over a year and now they have gotten a decert vote pending for the RN's. Keep us all in your prayers. This book was the best source of information I have ever found. Again, Thank you Mr. Levitt for getting out of that nasty business. At least there is 1 less to deal with.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Sun Tzu wrote "know yourself and your enemy, and you need not fear a hundred battles"...Accepting this advice is vital to the success of any organizer's undertaking! In this era of corporate culture, where 80's greed has merely cloaked itself in feel-good advertising while waging war against its employees, the robber barons at the top will do anything to maintain their power.
In that "war", the worker is not only expendable, but is seen an an enemy to be made an example of--crushed and discarded in front of co-workers! It is in every worker's best interest to read this book --even if you are not in a union, or a unionizing effort. Taking charge of your rights as an employee does not mean you are a militant communist--but that is what they would like you to think!
READ THIS BOOK! Know the ploys of those who hold the power--for they definitely make it their business to know OUR fears.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
An incredible revelation of what goes on behind the scenes to destroy worker rights. A great read that cannot be put down once started. Compelling, provocative, and riveting. I have never read a better book!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Confessions
Being a former union official I loved this book for its details of the underbelly of Union busting tactics. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Douglas Mayo
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Destructor
What a piece of work this guy was. He is not only self-destructive but he left a path of destruction where ever he went. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Gary Hinson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
If you are a UNION activist, you need to read this and understand how the union buster thinks. It's an easy read. Very interesting.
Published on September 7, 2010 by PC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely Interesting
This book is a fascinating account of not only union busting but a man's descent into greed. I couldn't put it down.
Published on December 12, 2003 by Tragiclaura
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tale of a True Mensch
In retrospect, this author is able to see what choices and decisions he had to make in his working life made on others; not a usual occurrence in the real world. Read more
Published on July 15, 2002 by Susan Davlin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Confessions of a Union Member
I read Mr. Levitt's book on the recommendation of a coworker. While I found it to be an informative and digusting peek into the sordid world of the professional union-buster, I was... Read more
Published on February 22, 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written and astute
A well-written and comprehensive account of a labor relations consultant's misdeeds. Catalogues with many accute psychological observations the harm many managers and labor... Read more
Published on July 5, 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars
too little, too late
levitt tells his story like a barstool confession. admittedly, he is a recovering alcoholic who wrote this apologia as one of his "steps," but that fact is not enough to... Read more
Published on May 26, 2000 by saldana
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unions in America?
A Madison Wisconsin newspaper had a small article on this book and I read a copy. In thinking about the total of the book I cannot believe the level of fear that exists between... Read more
Published on February 18, 2000 by Mr. R. Wolfe
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent!informative and enlightening!
I found this to be an enlightening book.Things that I used to dismiss as paranioa now seem validated as Marty reveils his evil deeds. Read more
Published on October 16, 1999 by Bob Owens
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Citations (learn more)
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16
books
cite this book:
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- John F. Kennedy: Commander in Chief by Pierre Salinger on page 37
- Power on the Job: The Legal Rights of Working People by Michael Yates on page 133, page 142, and Back Matter
- If the Workers Took a Notion: The Right to Strike and American Political Development by Josiah Bartlett Lambert on page 166, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Public Workers: Government Employee Unions, the Law, and the State, 1900-1962 (ILR Press books) by Joseph E. Slater in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Struggle Over Work: The 'End of Work' and Employment Alternatives in Post-Industrial Societies (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy) by Shaun Wilson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Framed!: Labor and the Corporate Media (ILR Press books) by Christopher R. Martin in Back Matter
See all 16 books citing this book
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