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Joseph A. McCartin

Labor's Great War: The Struggle for Industrial Democracy and the Origins of Modern American Labor Relations, 1912-1921 Paperback – February 9, 1998

by Joseph A. McCartin (Author)

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Since World War I, says Joseph McCartin, the central problem of American labor relations has been the struggle among workers, managers, and state officials to reconcile democracy and authority in the workplace. In his comprehensive look at labor issues during the decade of the Great War, McCartin explores the political, economic, and social forces that gave rise to this conflict and shows how rising labor militancy and the sudden erosion of managerial control in wartime workplaces combined to create an industrial crisis. The search for a resolution to this crisis led to the formation of an influential coalition of labor Democrats, AFL unionists, and Progressive activists on the eve of U.S. entry into the war. Though the coalition's efforts in pursuit of industrial democracy were eventually frustrated by powerful forces in business and government and by internal rifts within the movement itself, McCartin shows how the shared quest helped cement the ties between unionists and the Democratic Party that would subsequently shape much New Deal legislation and would continue to influence the course of American political and labor history to the present day.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of North Carolina Press
Publication date

February 9, 1998
Dimensions

6.13 x 0.73 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0807846791
ISBN-13

978-0807846797
Lexile measure

1430L
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

McCartin (history, SUNY, Geneseo) has written a comprehensive account of American labor relations during the World War I era, bringing into sharper focus a period of union-management struggles that has not been dealt with as fully up to now. His major theme is the struggle for industrial democracy in the workplace. Linked to this effort was organized labor's drive to unionize the mass production industries and to bring the federal government's regulatory authority in on their side. Although many of organized labor's gains during World War I were lost in the aftermath, McCartin believes that much of the New Deal labor legislation had its origins in the events of this earlier period. Recommended for labor collections of academic libraries.?Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., New York
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is the best book ever written about American labor in the era of World War I.

"Michael Kazin, author of "The Populist Persuasion: An American History"

"This is the best book ever written about American labor in the era of World War I.

"Michael Kazin, author of "The Populist Persuasion: An American History""

A book well worthy of the attentions of any serious student of twentieth-century labour and industrial relations history.

"Journal of Industrial Relations"

A superb historical narrative.

"Business History Review"

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of North Carolina Press; New edition (February 9, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807846791
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807846797
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1430L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.16 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 0.73 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,609,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #815 in Industrial Relations Business
- #2,521 in Labor & Industrial Relations (Books)
- #2,525 in Labor & Industrial Economic Relations (Books)

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Gary Mcgrane

Must Read for Labor Historians

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2012

Verified Purchase

For those who thought FDR was the leading left leaning progressive President with the "New Deal" social engineers should give pause and think again. Woodrow Wilson, his progressive labor leaning and political appointments were the foundation and building block for organized labors growth during the Great War. It was a war fought on two fronts one overseas with modern weapons of destruction and the other battle here at home over power and autocracy in the workplace. It would seem that political democracy had grown roots in the private industrial environment. Labor peace would come at a price. McCartrin's historical and well documented portrayal of the struggle for "industrial democracy" between 1912-1921 establishes an understanding about modern labor/management relations well into the twenty-first century. For labor to known where it is heading McCartin describes where organized labor struggles began. McCartin's objective discussion lends itself to a side of history less reported. The author presents the facts truthfully and without elaborate embellishment.

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Ultimately, an unsatisfying account of industrial democracy

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 1999

This book catalogs in great detail the various labor-related alphabet governmental agencies of WWI, especially the WLB, and their interventions in some of the major labor disputes of WWI. Obviously much research has gone into detailing names of key players and the sequence of events. But this book is supposed to be about industrial democracy. While it is stressed that the term "industrial democracy" came to the fore during this period, there is limited coverage of why this is so and the nature of any industrial democracy that may have been established. No where in the book is there a detailed look at how industrial democracy worked in an actual place of work. Many obvious questions are left unanswered. How widespread was any such industrial democracy? How did the typical worker or the media react to the concept? How did shop committees and trade unions interact? Also, it is unclear as to what the author's claims are regarding industrial democracy's lasting effects. He clearly shows that employers dominated the ERP's of post-WWI. The New Deal intervention in labor affairs was clearly not one of instituting democracy. McCartin does indicate that labor relations of the current period seem to have come almost full circle to some form of 19th century thinking. Basically, McCartin's book seems to indicate that "industrial democracy," whatever that was, was not much more than a blip on the screen of labor history. His book needed to focus far more on just what industrial democracy is and its difficulties and transience in real working peoples lives as well as an institution. The role of the AFL in stifling industrial democracy is given insufficient weight.