Since World War I, says Joseph McCartin, the central problem of American labor relations has been the struggle among workers, managers, and state officials to reconcile democracy and authority in the workplace. In his comprehensive look at labor issues during the decade of the Great War, McCartin explores the political, economic, and social forces that gave rise to this conflict and shows how rising labor militancy and the sudden erosion of managerial control in wartime workplaces combined to create an industrial crisis. The search for a resolution to this crisis led to the formation of an influential coalition of labor Democrats, AFL unionists, and Progressive activists on the eve of U.S. entry into the war. Though the coalition's efforts in pursuit of industrial democracy were eventually frustrated by powerful forces in business and government and by internal rifts within the movement itself, McCartin shows how the shared quest helped cement the ties between unionists and the Democratic Party that would subsequently shape much New Deal legislation and would continue to influence the course of American political and labor history to the present day.

In August 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) called an illegal strike. The new president, Ronald Reagan, fired the strikers, establishing a reputation for both decisiveness and hostility to organized labor. As Joseph A. McCartin writes, the strike was the culmination of two decades of escalating conflict between controllers and the government that stemmed from the high-pressure nature of the job and the controllers' inability to negotiate with their employer over vital issues. PATCO's fall not only ushered in a long period of labor decline; it also served as a harbinger of the campaign against public sector unions that now roils American politics. Now available in paperback, Collision Course sets the strike within a vivid panorama of the rise of the world's busiest air-traffic control system. It begins with an arresting account of the 1960 midair collision over New York that cost 134 lives and exposed the weaknesses of an overburdened system. Through the stories of controllers like Mike Rock and Jack Maher, who were galvanized into action by that disaster and went on to found PATCO, it describes the efforts of those who sought to make the airways safer and fought to win a secure place in the American middle class. It climaxes with the story of Reagan and the controllers, who surprisingly endorsed the Republican on the promise that he would address their grievances. That brief, fateful alliance triggered devastating miscalculations that changed America, forging patterns that still govern the nation's labor politics. Written with an eye for detail and a grasp of the vast consequences of the PATCO conflict for both air travel and America's working class, Collision Course is a stunning achievement.

The gold standard of American labor history references, updated to include the latest political, social, and economic developments of the 2020s Labor in America: A History, Tenth Edition, is a comprehensive and authoritative discussion of the U.S. labor movement from the colonial era to the 2020s. Authors Melvyn Dubofsky and Joseph A. McCartin have expanded and updated their landmark text, incorporating significant recent events and their implications for American labor. The book addresses the continuing and evolving challenges faced by American workers, critical developments in U.S. labor history, the impact of economic and political changes, and more. Dubofsky and McCartin offer nuanced analyses of workers’ collective actions, the formation of unions, and the role of labor in shaping American society. They provide a rich historical context and a detailed narrative of labor history for students, scholars, and laypersons alike. The authors also explain the likely impact of major contemporary trends on workers, including the rise of the gig economy, and discuss the most critical influences on modern U.S. labor. An invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history and future of labor in the United States, Labor in America: A History will undoubtedly remain the gold standard in the field for years to come.