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A review by jamesvw
Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell): My Decade Fighting for the Labor Movement by Jane F. McAlevey
4.0
It's hard to feel completely comfortable with a tell-all. It is hard to distinguish the pursuit of score-settling from honest critiques and assessments and since a large portion of this book is designed to illuminate worker successes in the labor movement - and how they are still possible in this day and age, the negativity about many well-known union players makes it feel all that more futile.
That being said, as a former SEIU organizer myself, I agree with many of her points and her arguments are compelling to an insider - from the need for more militancy and openness to strike to the sad churn of talented organizers who get turned off or directed away by the petty politics and egos in these locals. I would recommend this for all young people exploring working in the movement, though be prepared obviously for a bit more movement-veneer to be tarnished - it shows some ways forwards within a regressive system, yet is a reminder that this is a fight that never ends in victory...or in defeat, but perpetual struggle.
That being said, as a former SEIU organizer myself, I agree with many of her points and her arguments are compelling to an insider - from the need for more militancy and openness to strike to the sad churn of talented organizers who get turned off or directed away by the petty politics and egos in these locals. I would recommend this for all young people exploring working in the movement, though be prepared obviously for a bit more movement-veneer to be tarnished - it shows some ways forwards within a regressive system, yet is a reminder that this is a fight that never ends in victory...or in defeat, but perpetual struggle.