Ravenswood - The Steelworkers' Victory and the Revival of American Labor (Hardcover)

Ravenswood recounts how the United Steelworkers of America, in a battle waged over an aluminum plant in West Virginia, proved that organized labor can still win - even against a company controlled by one of the world's richest and most powerful men. The book provides an insider's look at the new tactics that many in the labor movement hope will revitalize the struggle for workers' rights in America. On November 1, 1990, just as its contract with the United Steelworkers of America was about to expire, Ravenswood Aluminum Corporation locked out its seventeen hundred employees and hired permanent replacements. Despite deteriorating working conditions that had led to five deaths in the previous year, the company had refused to discuss safety and health issues at the bargaining table. Drawing on interviews with key participants, Tom Juravich and Kate Bronfenbrenner describe how victory was achieved through the tremendous commitment and solidarity of the workers and their families coupled with one of the most innovative and sophisticated contract campaigns ever waged by an American union.