From Publishers Weekly
Onetime radical revolutionary from a Lithuanian village, Sidney Hillman (1887-1946) eked out a living as a cutter in Chicago's garment trade, then rose to become an influential labor leader and a member of FDR's inner circle. Due to his efforts, the Democratic Party of the mid-1930s came close to becoming the recognized party of organized labor. The nation's first political action committee, the CIO-PAC, which Hillman created, pioneered demands in 1944 for racial equality, women's right to work, equal pay and federally subsidized child care. Yet, in his close association with New Deal politicians, Hillman saw his moral authority erode among comrades as the labor bureaucracy he helped erect became increasingly ossified. Foster, executive editor of Basic Books, explores these contradictions in a superb, vibrant biography that mirrors American labor's "sea change" from insurgent proletariat to a force integrated into capitalist mass culture.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Fraser has written the definitive study of the public career of Sidney Hillman (1887-1946), which supersedes Matthew Josephson's Sidney Hillman: Statesman of American Labor ( LJ 11/15/52) and all other earlier biographies. Hillman, a founder in 1914 and lifetime President of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, went on to become a major force in the American labor movement, a founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and a recognized spokesman for working people in the corridors of power in Washington. He also was a confidant of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; a major player in mobilizing labor for the industrial and military build-up before Pearl Harbor and during World War II; an originator of labor's political action committees (PAC); and a power broker in the Democratic party in the 1944 presidential election. Fraser tells Hillman's story skillfully and perceptively in a book that is highly recommended for current American history and labor collections.
- Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
