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whatsbookinjenni's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This was really well done. I learned a lot about unions and their history in the US, and also really appreciated Pitkin's reflections on the role of top-down union organizing when it comes to meeting (or not meeting) the needs of the most marginalized of workers. Would highly recommend a read (or a listen, the audiobook was good!)
kalifer's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
readingwitherin's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Algonquin for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.
"This new strike wave will grow. It will spread to new states and other industries. It will grow in part because labor law in this country is broken, and just as in the early 1900s, a strike is workers' only recourse, the only way to force a company to the bargaining table."
Truthfully I struggled while reading this book and I'll get into why that was in the last paragraph. Besides that though I did really enjoy this book and I learned so much from it.
I enjoyed learning about how they organized the union and all the hard work that went into it. Hearing about the long and gruesome fight at times they had to deal with in order for a better and slightly safer work environment at times was disheartening, while at others was heartwarming because of how they all helped one another for the most part. Starting a Union or any type of workplace safety requirement is hard and it takes so much work, but in the end, it benefits everyone and helps in the long run. Seeing how the author Pitkin worked so closely alongside some of the workers and became lifelong friends with them was nice to see as well. I had no idea that laundry workers had to deal with all of this and were exposed to so many different harmful environments and I'm so glad that the vast majority of them appear to have good unions now that are working to continue to better protect them.
But I personally could have done without all of the stuff about Moths. It's the one part of the book that didn't work for me and made me take so long to read and finish the book. I know it was a big part of the author's non-union life, and that was okay, it just took a little bit away from the story of the union itself.
"Anger is the primary emotion that drives people to fight, the only emotion strong enough to overcome fear. And anger is powerful, it's true, but care for one another is, too. And care of one another, unlike anger, is continually renewable- it becomes both an engine for the fight and a destination for it, elemental to the new world the fight demands. Care for one another functions this way mainly because it allows for hope, which is the substance of solidarity."
"This new strike wave will grow. It will spread to new states and other industries. It will grow in part because labor law in this country is broken, and just as in the early 1900s, a strike is workers' only recourse, the only way to force a company to the bargaining table."
Truthfully I struggled while reading this book and I'll get into why that was in the last paragraph. Besides that though I did really enjoy this book and I learned so much from it.
I enjoyed learning about how they organized the union and all the hard work that went into it. Hearing about the long and gruesome fight at times they had to deal with in order for a better and slightly safer work environment at times was disheartening, while at others was heartwarming because of how they all helped one another for the most part. Starting a Union or any type of workplace safety requirement is hard and it takes so much work, but in the end, it benefits everyone and helps in the long run. Seeing how the author Pitkin worked so closely alongside some of the workers and became lifelong friends with them was nice to see as well. I had no idea that laundry workers had to deal with all of this and were exposed to so many different harmful environments and I'm so glad that the vast majority of them appear to have good unions now that are working to continue to better protect them.
But I personally could have done without all of the stuff about Moths. It's the one part of the book that didn't work for me and made me take so long to read and finish the book. I know it was a big part of the author's non-union life, and that was okay, it just took a little bit away from the story of the union itself.
"Anger is the primary emotion that drives people to fight, the only emotion strong enough to overcome fear. And anger is powerful, it's true, but care for one another is, too. And care of one another, unlike anger, is continually renewable- it becomes both an engine for the fight and a destination for it, elemental to the new world the fight demands. Care for one another functions this way mainly because it allows for hope, which is the substance of solidarity."
mkwoods's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
4.0
This was an easy to read, engaging, and informative memoir. I would recommend it to folks who want to learn more about the labor movement, especially folks who wonder why unions are necessary and important today, and folks who work in politics.
The central story of the union in Phoenix is fascinating and frustrating and informative, but I also appreciated all of the history about the labor movement, especially the focus on women. I wish the author had presented a clear overview of the process of forming a union today. I’ve been through it and even I got lost at times, so if you’re unfamiliar look it up before reading. I loved the descriptions of how they tracked data (this is the work I do). The whole moth thing didn’t resonate for me but I’m always down for some fun facts about bugs.
Most of all, I found a lot to relate to in this book. The complicated relationships between privileged white people choosing to do meaningful work because they care and folks who do it for survival, the frustration and betrayal when institutions with toxic cultures fail to live up to their supposed values, the despair and relief of leaving a job you care deeply about and want to be good at but that’s eating you alive. There’s a lot here, and I’m glad I read it.
bgg616's review
4.0
Daisy Pitkin's account of her work organizing workers, mostly Mexican immigrants, in industrial laundries in Arizona is hair raising. The sheer amount of work involved to get access to these workers, and talk to them about their work conditions was almost beyond belief. In many of these workplaces, safeguards had been removed from machinery to speed up the work. While in smaller, "better" laundries, hospital loads were pre-washed before sorting by workers to remove dangerous items such as syringe needles (very common), blood and even body parts, in these industrial laundries, workers were often injured. Not only was the work dirty, it was dangerous.
Daisy forges a friendship with Alma, a Mexican immigrant, who works in the laundry Daisy and others are organizing. The stories of how management broke almost every rule and law on the books beggars belief. And sadly, because of the ineffectiveness of the National Labor Relations Board, and Arizona courts, they got away with it. Alma proves to be a leader, and becomes a target for management at her workplace.
Pitkin worked for UNITE then UNITE/HERE then Workers United/SEIU. These unions were also guilty of dirty tricks, and a lot of big egos. I finished the book not knowing why anyone would want to work as a union organizer when even their own union wasn't totally on the up and up. But as a former teachers' union activist, as imperfect as my own union in Boston was, I still believe I was, and other teachers were, better off because we had it.
Pitkin describes the decline of unions in the second half of the 20th century:
In 2020 industrial laundry workers made $10.13 an hour on average. The CEO of the largest laundry corporation in the US made almost $10 million. Union density has fallen to 6.4 percent in the private sector…around 11 percent overall, similar to the percentage it was in 1910, when the ILGWU was formed…Since union density fell below 25 percent in 1977, income inequality has risen exponentially every year. She goes on to say "The right to organize is almost nonexistent as those rights, established in 1935, have eroded over the past decades."
Yet, we have seen a trend towards organizing that is rapidly growing - teachers, Amazon, Starbucks. And Pitkin believes that rather than being led by anger, these efforts are led by solidarity. I hope she is right. I have a younger sister who works in an Amazon warehouse. We don't talk about her job much, except when she is on mandatory overtime. It's a job she needs.
Daisy forges a friendship with Alma, a Mexican immigrant, who works in the laundry Daisy and others are organizing. The stories of how management broke almost every rule and law on the books beggars belief. And sadly, because of the ineffectiveness of the National Labor Relations Board, and Arizona courts, they got away with it. Alma proves to be a leader, and becomes a target for management at her workplace.
Pitkin worked for UNITE then UNITE/HERE then Workers United/SEIU. These unions were also guilty of dirty tricks, and a lot of big egos. I finished the book not knowing why anyone would want to work as a union organizer when even their own union wasn't totally on the up and up. But as a former teachers' union activist, as imperfect as my own union in Boston was, I still believe I was, and other teachers were, better off because we had it.
Pitkin describes the decline of unions in the second half of the 20th century:
In 2020 industrial laundry workers made $10.13 an hour on average. The CEO of the largest laundry corporation in the US made almost $10 million. Union density has fallen to 6.4 percent in the private sector…around 11 percent overall, similar to the percentage it was in 1910, when the ILGWU was formed…Since union density fell below 25 percent in 1977, income inequality has risen exponentially every year. She goes on to say "The right to organize is almost nonexistent as those rights, established in 1935, have eroded over the past decades."
Yet, we have seen a trend towards organizing that is rapidly growing - teachers, Amazon, Starbucks. And Pitkin believes that rather than being led by anger, these efforts are led by solidarity. I hope she is right. I have a younger sister who works in an Amazon warehouse. We don't talk about her job much, except when she is on mandatory overtime. It's a job she needs.