A thorough collection of inspiring and informed essays on applied Marxist theory and the future of labor unions.

In this thorough collection of inspiring and informed essays, Kim Moody, one of the world's most authoritative and recognized labor writers, analyzes the past, present, and future of unions in the United States. With a sharp understanding of Marxist theory and labor history, Moody charts a well-reasoned course for the future of rank-and-file struggle.

Kim Moody was a founder of Labor Notes and is a member of the National Union of Journalists and a senior research fellow at the Work and Employment Unit of the University of Hertfordshire.

Introduction: Socialism & The Working Class: Seeking the Connection in America



Part I Class Struggle : Theory and Strategy



1) 2012 ‘Marx’s Concept of Class Struggle’ in Marcello Musto (ed.), Marx for Today (forthcoming)



2) 2010 “Understanding the Rank and File Rebellion of the Long 1970s,” in Aaron Brenner, Robert Brenner and Calvin Winslow (eds.), Rebel Rank and File: Labor Militancy and Revolt from Below During the Long 1970s, London, Verso .



3) 1998 (with Sheila Cohen), “Unions, Strikes and Class Consciousness Today” Socialist Register 1998, New York, Monthly Review Press.



4) 2012 “Contextualising Organised Labour in Expansion and Crisis: The Case of the US” Historical Materialism 20(1): 3-30.



5) Ca. 2000 “The Rank and File Strategy”, Detroit, Solidarity



6) 2012 “Updating the Rank and File Strategy”



7) 2012 “The General Strike” Against the Current #160 September/October 2012



Part II The Future of Unions in the US



8) 2009 “The Direction of Union Mergers in the U.S.: The Rise of Conglomerate Unionism” British Journal of Industrial Relations 47(4): 676-700.



9) 2013 “Beating the Union, Union Avoidance in the US 1945 to the Present” in G. Gall and T. Dundon (eds.), Global anti-unionism—nature , dynamics, trajectories and outcomes London, Palgrave.



10) 2009 “Union Organising in the United States,” in Gregor Gall (ed.), The Future of Union Organising, London, Palgrave.



11) 2013 “Striking Out in America: Is There an Alternative to the Strike?” in Gregor Gall (ed.), New Forms and Expressions of Conflict at Work , London, Palgrave .



12) 2012 “Competition & Conflict: Unions in the US Hospital Industry” Economic & Industrial Democracy (forthcoming).



Part III Urban Politics, Immigrant Workers & Poverty: Then & Now



13) 1967 “Poverty and Politics” New Politics Vol. VI No. 2, 1967.



14) 2007 “Beneath the Skyline” Chapter 7 in Kim Moody From Welfare State to Real Estate, New York, The New Press.



15) 2009 “Immigrant Workers and Labor/Community Organizations in the United States,” in Jo McBride and Ian Greenwood, Community Unionism: A Comparative Analysis of Concepts and Contexts, London, Palgrave. This is the Socialist Register version. 2007?, but you will need permission from both.



Part IV The ‘Sixties’



16) 1966 “Toward the Working Class: A Position Paper for the New Left” Berkeley CA, Independent Socialist Committee.



17) 2012 “Incidents in the Education of an American Socialist, 1959-1966. (Unpublished memoir)





Part V Epilogue