Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell)
Jane McAlevey
Verso Books
<p>In 1995, in the first contested election in the history ofthe AFL-CIO, John Sweeney won the presidency of the nation's largest laborfederation, promising renewal and resurgence. Today, less than 7 percent ofAmerican private-sector workers belong to a union, the lowest percentage sincethe beginning of the twentieth century, and public employee collectivebargaining has been dealt devastating blows in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Whathappened?<br><br>Jane McAlevey is famous--and notorious--in the American labormovement as the hard-charging organizer who racked up a string of victories ata time when union leaders said winning wasn't possible. Then she was bouncedfrom the movement, a victim of the high-level internecine warfare that has tornapart organized labor. In this engrossing and funny narrative--that reflects thepersonality of its charismatic, wisecracking author--McAlevey tells the story ofa number of dramatic organizing and contract victories, and the unconventionalstrategies...