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Joe Burns
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Strike Back: Using the Militant Tactics of Labor's Past to Reignite Public Sector Unionism Today Paperback – July 15, 2014

by Joe Burns (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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During the 1960s and 1970s, teachers, sanitation workers and many other public employees rose up to demand collective bargaining rights in one of the greatest upsurges in labor history. These workers were able to transform the nature of public employment, winning union recognition for millions and ultimately forcing reluctant politicians to pass laws allowing for collective bargaining and even the right to strike. Strike Back uncovers this history of militancy to provide tactics for a new generation of public employees facing unprecedented attacks on their labor rights.
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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ig Publishing
  4. Publication date
    July 15, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1935439898
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1935439899
  8. See all details
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Gregory A. Butler
    5.0 out of 5 stars Every public employee should read this book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Every union member - public and private sector - needs to read this book. Especially my fellow public employees. Our unions were born in struggle, just like the private sector unions, and struggle is the only thing that's going to save them. We're not going to save labor by voting for Democrats
    One person found this helpful
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  • Daniel Plonsey
    4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for all interested in reinvigorating public employee unions!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This book critiques the prevailing teachers' unions' strategy of 1) "cooperation" with reformers 2) endorsement of mainstream Democrats (most notoriously AFT's endorsement of Hilary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo). Burns argues (fairly convincingly) that public employee unions made their biggest gains -- both in membership and in pay and other job issues -- by a series of strikes in the 60's and 70's. He argues that if the unions do not wish to reach a "tipping point" beyond which they cannot recover, they will need to relearn these strategies which were worker centered. Burns says labor should not be deterred by laws and contracts which make strikes illegal, as he shows that there were actually as many or more strikes which were illegal than legal. The book is easy to read, and fairly lively in tone. I withhold one star only because the book could use one more pass of proofreading (too many typos), perhaps a bit of editorial reorganization to remove small redundancies, and an index. I'd also appreciate more data backing up basic assertions, for instance tables or graphs charting salary by year.
    One person found this helpful
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  • robert buratt
    2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Not at all deep. Very superficial treatment of a fundamental political, economic, and societal problem.
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  • Ken Nash
    5.0 out of 5 stars Building Bridges Radio: Reviving the Strike: How Workers Can Regain Power and Transform America
    Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2015
    http://www.buildingbridgesradio.blogspot.com/2015/03/reviving-strike-how-workers-can-regain.html
    Strike Back ! Using the Militant Tactics of Labor's Past to Reignite Unionism Today
    featuring
    Joe Burns
    In his books Reviving the Strike and Strike Back labor Lawyer Joe Burns argues that if the American labor movement is to rise again, it will not be as a result of electing different politicians, the passage of legislation, or improved methods of union organizing. Rather, workers will need to rediscover the power of the strike. Not the ineffectual strike of today, where employees meekly sit on picket lines waiting for scabs to take their jobs, but the type of strike capable of grinding private and public sector employers to a halt often with the solidarity of community and labor alliances. This is what happened in the strike waves when private sector unionism grew exponentially in the 1930’s – 1940’s and during the 1960s and 1970s, when teachers, sanitation workers and more than a million public employees rose up to demand collective bargaining rights in one of the greatest upsurges in labor history.

    to listen to or download this 27:59 radio program go to
    http://www.buildingbridgesradio.blogspot.com/2015/03/reviving-strike-how-workers-can-regain.html
    Building Bridges is broadcast live over WBAI, 99.5 FM in the NYC Metropolitan area on Mondays from 7-8PM EST. It is syndicated to over 50 broadcast and internet radio stations in the US, Canada and UK
    2 people found this helpful
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