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Summary
Summary
The inspiring story of worker centers that are cropping up across the country and leading the fight for today's workers
For over 60 million people, work in America has been a story of declining wages, insecurity, and unsafe conditions, especially amid the coronavirus epidemic. This new and troubling reality has galvanized media and policymakers, but all the while a different and little-known story of rebirth and struggle has percolated just below the surface.
On the Job is the first account of a new kind of labor movement, one that is happening locally, quietly, and among our country's most vulnerable--but essential--workers. Noted public health expert Celeste Monforton and award-winning journalist Jane M. Von Bergen crisscrossed the country, speaking with workers of all backgrounds and uncovering the stories of hundreds of new, worker-led organizations (often simply called worker centers) that have successfully achieved higher wages, safer working conditions and on-the-job dignity for their members.
On the Job describes ordinary people finding their voice and challenging power: from housekeepers in Chicago and Houston; to poultry workers in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Springdale, Arkansas; and construction workers across the state of Texas. An inspiring book for dark times, On the Job reveals that labor activism is actually alive and growing--and holds the key to a different future for all working people.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Monforton, a lecturer in public health at Texas State University, and journalist Von Bergen take an informative look at the efforts of "marginalized workers" in the U.S. to organize and fight for safer working conditions and better pay. The driving force behind this activism, according to the authors, are the 225 "worker centers" that have emerged across the country over the past two decades to assist those whose jobs aren't covered under collective bargaining agreements. These "community labor organizations" help members "access food or rent assistance, resolve unsafe workplace situations, and, importantly, organize for broader protections such as paid leave." Monforton and Von Bergen document campaigns to push employers to enforce social distancing and other safety measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, and note that the Filipino Workers Center in L.A. is providing housing to caregivers forced to self-isolate after exposure to the virus. In St. Cloud, Minn., the Greater Minnesota Worker Center and a coalition of local clergy members and student activists help Somali-American poultry workers fight for religious accommodations and safety improvements at nearby processing plants. The authors lucidly explain the issues facing low-wage workers, and vividly sketch the activists behind these campaigns. This timely and well-documented account offers hope for the future of the American labor movement. (May)
Kirkus Review
Monforton, director of the Beyond OSHA Project, and journalist Von Bergen tell the neglected story of the "nationwide worker center movement" that champions the rights of immigrants and others. In 2018, when a Texas poultry plant gave its workers too few bathroom breaks, diaper-wearing protesters showed up carrying a sign that said, "Let My People Pee." Organized by the Centro de Derechos Laborales in Bryan, the demonstration led to an immediate improvement in conditions at the plant, and it's among the surprisingly effective tactics described in this well-reported survey of many of the 225 community labor organizations known as "worker centers," which fight "exploitation and oppression" on the job. Unlike labor unions that serve members in related trades, worker centers educate and advocate for workers "marginalized because of language, because of immigration status, because their jobs as domestic workers isolate them, or because their employment status is murky as gig or temp agency workers." With less government regulation than unions, worker centers have won political victories or performed services that have often flown under the radar. In Chicago, Arise Chicago and other groups successfully lobbied the city to create the Office of Labor Standards to enforce minimum wage and other laws, and in Los Angeles, the Pilipino Workers Center rented houses for workers who had to quarantine during the pandemic. In New York, the Gig Workers Collective, a virtual center for Instacart and other shoppers, teamed up with Amazon warehouse workers for a protest in which activists posed next to body bags outside Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, urging him to do more to protect Amazon workers. A work of journalism rather than history, the book offers little about the precursors of the centers, such as mutual aid societies, but it more than makes its case that "labor activism is not a quaint notion from days gone by." These are not your parents' labor unions--an excellent introduction to a burgeoning and necessary movement. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Monforton, who directs the workers' rights organization Beyond OSHA Project, here collaborates with journalist Von Bergen to capture the stories, perspectives, and experiences of workers fighting for better pay and working conditions throughout the U.S., across many industries. Monforton and Bergen examine today's organized labor movements and the formation and role of non-profit, community-based organizations called worker centers in these activities. Worker centers play an increasingly important role for low-wage workers seeking support in food/rent assistance, work protection, and help addressing unsafe working conditions. The authors connect workers' experiences collectively through many examples. They also focus on the recent experiences of these movements during the pandemic, and the treatment of "essential workers," including gig workers, following increased demands for things like grocery delivery. Readers interested in labor politics, labor relations, and related activism, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on labor, will glean much inspiration and insight into how workers have mobilized and advocated for higher wages, safer working conditions, and respect and dignity, even during the midst of a global pandemic.
Table of Contents
| Introduction: Awakening the Power | p. 3 |
| Part I Broken Bodies, Broken Hearts | |
| 1 Danger and Disrespect | p. 15 |
| 2 Out of Tragedy, Triumph | p. 27 |
| 3 Body, Mind, Health | p. 41 |
| 4 Safe Space, Open Hearts | p. 53 |
| 5 He Couldn't Make Himself Beg | p. 59 |
| Part II Challenges, Tensions | |
| 6 In the Service of Power | p. 71 |
| 7 Uneasy Tension | p. 83 |
| 8 A Latte and a Union | p. 90 |
| 9 "They Wanted a Revolution" | p. 96 |
| Part III Friends and Allies | |
| 10 Pulpits and Professors | p. 115 |
| 11 A Time to Pray | p. 130 |
| 12 "You Are Not Alone" | p. 138 |
| Part IV Workers and Washington | |
| 13 A Frustrating Friend | p. 151 |
| 14 "They Kind of Have Us Like the Cows" | p. 159 |
| 15 Diaper Power | p. 176 |
| 16 Butterflies and Barbed Wire | p. 185 |
| Part V The Fruits of Their Labors | |
| 17 Beyond the Broom, Breaking Barriers | p. 199 |
| 18 Temporary Job, Permanent Struggle | p. 208 |
| 19 All Work, No Pay | p. 219 |
| 20 The Fight Doesn't Stop Here | p. 225 |
| The Power Awakened | p. 237 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 245 |
| Notes | p. 251 |
| Index | p. 263 |