- 288 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Insurgent Labor tracks the trials and tribulations of bringing a formerly stagnant labor union into national relevance with an unapologetically left-wing agenda.
David Van Deusen charts the rise of the UNITED! ticket to create a progressive and militant labor union. He chronicles the many victories throughout his tenure including expanding union democracy into the rank and file, moving power away from single individuals and into democratic structures, supporting farm workers, supporting Black self-determination, and supporting Black Lives Matter. Van Deusen also managed to include support for the revolutionary efforts in Rojava.
The boldest step undertaken by the Vermont AFL-CIO—and marker of years of steady progress in labor organizing and raising of political consciousness in Vermont—was authorizing a call for a general strike throughout Vermont as a possible response to the November coup threat
This book should be of interest to anyone, whether they have merely thought of joining a union or are an old union hand. Most importantly, Insurgent Labor offers a blueprint for militant labor's advances in an era of capitalist polycrisis and offers hope for a brighter future based around equality, justice, and true democracy.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Foreword: Toward Working-Class Liberation by Kim Kelly
- Introduction: Can Labor Councils Be Revived? Vermont Workers Say, “Yes, We Can!” by Steve Early
- Preface: Working-Class Unity, Union Power!
- Chapter I. Mass Labor Picket: Scott Walker and the Vermont Republican Party
- Chapter II. Rock Bottom: The Near Death of Vermont Labor
- Chapter III. The United! Campaign: From Ashes Rise
- Chapter IV. The 2019 Convention: United! Comes to Power
- Chapter V. From Opposition to Governing
- Chapter VI. Concerning Elections: Rejecting the Premise of the Democrats and Building a More Direct Democracy
- Chapter VII. Black Lives Matter, the Police, and the Politics of Reality
- Chapter VIII. Aftermath: Residual Challenges, New Elections, and Structure Building
- Chapter IX. Exporting the Revolution within Labor: United! in VSEA and NEA
- Chapter X. Building International Solidarity: Rojava, Palestine, and Cuba
- Chapter XI. Preparing for the Trump Coup: The General Strike Vote and Antifascism
- Chapter XII. War against the Old Guard
- Afterword
- Appendix A: Ten-Point Program for Union Power: The Little Green Book
- Appendix B: Electoral Policy: Building Power beyond Political Parties
- Appendix C: President Van Deusen’s General Strike Speech Opening the 2020 Convention
- Appendix D: The Vermont General Strike Authorization Resolution
- Appendix E: Vice President Katie Harris’s May Day 2023 Speech
- Notes
- Index
- About the Authors