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The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor: The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi

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Tony Mazzocchi is the towering figure in the US occupational safety and health movement. Until his death in 2002, Tony did more than anyone else in the country to shape the way unions, scientists and public health professionals work independently and together to prevent occupational injury and illness.

The book is a beautifully written, and, like the first reviewer, I could not put it down. Reading it, I found myself fascinated and exhilarated, immersed in Tony's involvement in the passage of the OSHA law, the Karen Silkwood affair, protecting workers in the nuclear weapons complex, cold war politics, and much more.

I have been waiting for this book, and have purchased copies for my friends and family. I am not disappointed. I got my shipment today, and have been unable to put it down. I knew Tony Mazzochi for the last 20 years of his life. Tony had an energy, and vision that inspired hundreds of people my age, and Les Leopold has captured that story in a way that I can't put down. If you are interested in the history of Post World War II America, flavored by the work of it's most visionary Labor leader, read this book.

This well-written, inspiring, and entertaining account of one man's remarkable life also illuminates the recent history of America's labor movement. We learn about labor's postwar purges, unions' role in the cold war, the origins of worker health and safety laws, the common ground between the labor and environmental movements, and the potential for an independent political party centered on working people. The accounts of union politics are fascinating.

Les Leopold, who knew Tony Mazzocchi well, provides his own perspective on the man and the movement he did so much to advance. Those who may differ with Mazzocchi's politics can still admire his idealism and integrity, and appreciate his charm. Those who agree can be inspired and much better informed. Those who just want to know more about progressive movements in our time can learn a lot, besides getting acquainted with one of their most influential -- and engaging -- figures.

The author has done a great service to his readers, as well as to both his subjects -- Mazzocchi and the progressive movement. His prose is well organized, entertaining, and compelling. Let's hope we hear more from him.

Tony Mazzocchi may not be widely known outside the labor movement, but Les Leopold's biography makes it clear why he should be, since stretching labor's alliances and developing its broadest coalition for nourishing a radical democratic political movement was clearly his lifelong project. From his early youth in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to rank and file labor organizing in the 1950's, building upon that strand of anti-McCarthyism still lively, Mazzocchi, primarily through the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers (OCAW), lead the charge for what would become OSHA, developing labor's ties with civil rights, anti-war, and environmentalist organizing efforts. Here is common work with Martin Luther King, Stanley Aronowitz, Ralph Nader, Barry Commoner, Seymour Hirsch, and Karen Silkwood, with graphic chapters, campaigns, and adventures. Ever on-guard against corporate America, the corporate labor establishment, and the corporate Democratic party, Mazzocchi's key role in trying to build and develop an independent Labor Party is made sensible, strategic, informative and moving, especially as he dealt with radical sectarians and viewed party efforts to build an alliance including radical pro-abortionists and Catholic Church activists. Written by Les Leopold, a founder of both the Labor and the Public Health Institutes, who worked with Mazzocchi and provided him with housing during difficult personal periods, "The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi" is an admiring friend and colleague's labor of love and tribute, presenting a warts-and-all, all-too-human life of a man who's ordinariness and heroism both shine through to the end as he faced a final cancerous illness and leave us with a vivid human account of labor and radical politics across the second half of 20th century America.

I am not a student of labor history, and I must confess that I picked up this book with a big anticipatory yawn. But within two pages I was hooked. The writing is lively and never dull. The subject, Tony Mazzocchi, is endearing and engaging. This is the human side of labor history. The book is rich with intrigue and personalities. For the lay reader, there is much to learn about our society that we don't always think about, but that affects our daily lives.

Les Leopold has done a great service to all. The stories of Tony Mazzocchi, his vision, leadership and ability to build a movement are so very well captured in this book. A riveting read! This book should be read by anyone in the labor movement and especially those in leadership positions in any organization.

Well written and inspirational. Tony Mazzocchi recognized the natural alliance between the labor and environmental movements, and that the labor movement will only be successful when it takes an expansive role in society. He rejected the short-sighted and narrow views of many of his contemporaries.

Andrew Lewinter
Labor Lawyer, Eugene, Oregon

Blend insights into a CIA-connected labor union, an assassination attempt, and espionage and you have the story of one Tony Mazzocchi, a labor leader whose struggles to reveal toxic exposure of thousands of workers led to a fight that resulted in passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Any college-level holding strong in labor relations history or health issues in the workplace needs this survey of an early safety advocate.

les leopold provides a comprehesive account, professional and personal, of this fascinating character -- a man who should be considered among the leading figures of 20th century labor leadership in the u.s.

A lively and engaging portrait of a labor organizer and activist, "The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor" is an inspirational story and object lesson of how much effect one committed person can have in bringing together coalitions for progressive change. From his fight to regulate health and safety issues to linking labor to environmental concerns and civil rights, Tony Mazzocchi was a tireless crusader for those struggling against corporate greed and corruption. This is a truly fascinating historical account of one of labor's foremost champions.