CURRENTLY SOLD OUT
 | Shop by category |
{"delay":300}
|
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Adult Learning & University
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Adult Learning & University
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
In post-war America, the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA) attained a reputation as one of the more successful trade unions. Roger Horowitz, in Negro and White, Unite and Fight, analyzes the history of the UPWA from its inception in the 1930s until its decline during the 60s and 70s. Horowitz centers his discussion around the union’s administrative districts in Chicago, Illinois, Sioux City, Iowa, Austin, Minnesota, and Kansas City, Missouri. These cities held approximately three fourths of the UPWA membership and thus played a vital role in its success. The nature of the meatpacking industry greatly facilitated the success of the UPWA. In later years, however, changes in the trade became the undoing of the unions. For Horowitz, the process through which both cattle and hogs were disassembled into beef and pork products created an occupational hierarchy according to race. The slaughter houses were characterized by a bitterly cold environment and blood and animal parts that made those jobs unattractive for the white working classes. These jobs were largely taken by African-Americans who enjoyed higher wages than in other industries. The interracial makeup of the meatpacking industry allowed unions to gain momentum and eventually to earn the fierce loyalty of employees. Unlike many of the major CIO unions, the UPWA endured post-war changes; its leadership remained unshaken amidst tensions surrounding the Cold War and unrelenting in its attempts to maintain shop-floor power. During the 1950s, the UPWA rose to the top as a progressive union in support of the Civil Rights Movement. For Horowitz, the UPWA was able to withstand change and increase its power and support primarily because of the makeup of the meatpacking industry. From the 1930s on, the unions enjoyed successes in their conflicts with management. This power, however, declined when plants moved from the larger administrative districts. A restructuring of the industry during the 1960s and 1970s brought changes in production methods and the distribution of meats and their byproducts and thus eliminated firms in which the UPWA had proven the strongest. For Horowitz, the UPWA also succeeded because of its ability to maintain democracy and to avoid “red-baiting” and “race-baiting.” The meatpacking industry lent itself to at least shop-floor solidarity between the races and thus left Jim Crow somewhat powerless. To some extent, however, Horowitz proffers an overly positive analysis of the UPWA. Although he recognizes the failures of various local unions in combating racism, he does not address the breakdown in gender equality. Despite this, Roger Horowitz has given readers an effective discussion of the UPWA and its ability to maintain rank and file democracy while still improving the work environment for its members.Read full review
