Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government—And How We Take It Back, by David Sirota, describes how America's democratic government has been kidnapped by Big Money interests. Sirota, a former congressional staff member, says it’s not the high-profile scandals such as the one that toppled former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay that most threaten our democracy, but the nearly invisible, day-to-day corruption—a little-noticed amendment in a big spending bill, political reporters refusing to address major economic challenges of average Americans or a politician boldly lying about who is behind what they are doing.” Hardback. $24. Available at The Union Shop Online.™
In the preface to his latest book, American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, Kevin Phillips asserts that “the American people are not fools. That is why pollsters, inquiring during the last forty years whether the United States was on the right track or the wrong one, have so often gotten the second answer: wrong track.” In this book, Phillips, a former staff member in the Nixon White House, argues that the three greatest threats to America's well-being are our dependence on shrinking oil supplies, radicalized religion and massive domestic and international debt. He draws historical parallels to similar conditions in the past and presents a strategy to move away from the dangers presented by these threats. Hardback. $26.95. Available at The Union Shop Online.™
The New York Times writer Louis Uchitelle has documented the alarming and devastating impact of layoffs on individuals and our economy. In The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences, he traces the rise of job security in the United States to its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s and the factors that caused a U-turn beginning in the 1970s. He follows three CEOs of tool manufacturer Stanley Works from 1968 through 2003 and shows how each of the CEOs gradually become more willing than his predecessor to lay off workers. Uchitelle makes clear layoffs are counterproductive and rarely promote efficiency or profitability in the long term. Hardback. $25.95. Available at The Union Shop Online.™
RESOURCES
With employers increasingly cutting wages and benefits, workers need to strengthen their skills to more effectively fight for their rights. The National Labor College (NLC) has designed two online courses specifically for Working America members at a considerable discount. Together, these Grassroots Leadership courses will give you an economic and historical analysis of the present U.S. situation and provide you with the skills, support and guidance to lead a campaign in your community. To learn more, visit www.unionvoice.org/ct/OpqOU4p1XPIX/.
WEBSIGHTING
The backbone of the union movement is the organizer. The AFL-CIO Organizing Institute trains hundreds of new organizers every year. Now, the updated Organizing Institute website, www.aflcio.org/aboutus/oi/main.cfm, provides a user-friendly and quick way to apply for training to become an organizer, learn new techniques to become a better organizer or discuss strategies for an ongoing campaign. The site includes schedules of training dates and applications that can be downloaded.
