Trade Unions in the Epoch of Imperialist Decay

“At the opening of the 21st century, trade unions in the United States continue to weaken. A smaller percentage of workers are members than a any time since the 1920s. Meanwhile, labour officials finagle mergers to maintain their dues base and pour tens of millions into electing to public office one or another of the candidates of the employers’ imperialist parties, thus further weakening the labour movement.

But militant workers resisting employer assaults have begun relearning what a strike is – how a strike is fought, how to reach out for solidarity and extend it to others, how a strike can be won. Through involvement in such struggles, they become more interested in ideas about how the entire system of exploitation, oppression, and disrespect facing working people can be changed. They start reading more broadly, especially books, pamphlets, and newspapers suggested by fellow union fighters who they’ve come to trust and who are experienced in political activity in the interests of the working class. They become open to bolder perspectives.

For workers such as these, and youth attracted to their struggles, the “food for thought” in this book – the work of revolutionary leaders from three different generations of the modern working-class movement – will become an invaluable part of practical education.”

This edition also contains a preface by Farrell Dobbs and ‘Trade Unions: Their past, present and future’, by Karl Marx.